I'm here to stay, it's not just about polls, says Urmila Matondkar

Mumbai: Congress is hopeful that Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar’s decision to join the party will reinvigorate it ahead of Lok Sabha polls. The party is likely to field the actress from the Mumbai North constituency against Gopal Shetty of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

On Wednesday, Ms Matondkar joined the Congress in the presence of party chief Rahul Gandhi at New Delhi. The newly appointed Mumbai party chief Milind Deora welcomed her by saying, “I have known Urmilaji for years. She is not just one of India’s finest artistes, but someone who is extremely opinionated on issues affecting our society and someone taking the political step for the long run to serve the country through the Congress party.”

“I am here because I believe in the ideology of Congress and what the party stands for. I have not joined the party for the sake of elections,” she told reporters. “I am here to stay,” she said adding her entry in the Congress was not about elections.

Ms Matondkar said she felt the need to join the Congress party as the freedom to express was under attack in the country and there are numerous examples in this regard in the last five years.

“Today is a significant day for me as I have formally entered politics. My life has been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi from the days of my childhood,” she added.

The party cadre has expressed hope that Ms Matondkar entry will boost party’s chances in the city during the Lok Sabha polls. “She will definitely prove to be a crowd puller. We needed a celebrity like her to catch the attention of people,” said a Congress leader.

However, if given a ticket, Ms Matondkar’s fate will depend on Marathi voters in the North Mumbai constituency. A political observer said, “There are 6.50 lakh Marathi voters followed by Gujarati, Jain and Marwari who have around 5.50 lakh voters. There are 2.50 lakh North Indian and around 1.15 lakh Muslim voters.”  

For Congress, North Mumbai has been a tough constituency. Mr Shetty had defeated Mr Nirupam of Congress by more than 4,46,000 votes in 2014.