I’m not campaigning for any political party, says Salman Khan

New Delhi:  Bollywood superstar Salman Khan Thursday said he will not be campaigning for any political party for the Lok Sabha polls, days after a Congress leader in Madhya Pradesh claimed that his party is speaking to the actor for electoral canvassing.  “Contrary to the rumours I am not contesting elections nor campaigning for any political party,” Khan said in a tweet.   

On Tuesday, state Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said that party leaders have already talked to Khan to campaign in Indore and they were almost certain that he will be campaigning.   Khan was born in Indore’s Palasia area in 1965 and spent a substantial part of his childhood in that city before moving to Mumbai.   

Indore, Madhya Pradesh’s largest city, has been a BJP bastion since Sumitra Mahajan defeated former chief minister and senior Congress member Prakash Chandra Sethi in 1989.   Mahajan, an eight-time MP who went on to be Lok Sabha speaker, has retained the seat since then.      

Salman campaigned and participated in a road show for the Congress’ Indore mayoral candidate Pankaj Sanghavi in 2009.   However, the move did not pay off as senior BJP leader Krishna Murari Moghe defeated him.   Elections in Madhya Pradesh will be held over four phases starting April 29.