The country went to the polls from April 19 to June 1 in seven phases to elect the 543 members of the lower house of Parliament, and many from showbiz were in the fray.
With voters favoring many celebrity faces—both trusted and new—this election season, eyes will be on the performance of first-time MPs like Kangana Ranaut and Arun Govil as they take their place in the 18th Lok Sabha along with returning star politicians Hema Malini and Manoj Tiwari.
Ms. Ranaut, a popular Bollywood figure and long-time supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, won her first-ever election from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, her home state. She defeated Vikramaditya Singh, son of six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh. Known for her outspoken nature and frequent controversies, Ranaut expressed her commitment to public service post-win, raising curiosity about her tenure as an MP.
“Ramayan” star Arun Govil, another celebrity fielded by the BJP, emerged victorious from the Meerut seat in Uttar Pradesh, narrowly defeating Samajwadi Party’s Sunita Yadav by just 10,585 votes. Govil’s portrayal of Lord Ram in the classic TV serial seemed to work in his favor.
Hema Malini, a veteran of Hindi cinema, was elected for a third straight term in Lok Sabha from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, defeating Mukesh Dhangar of Congress. Malini’s third win underscores her strong influence in Mathura, the birthplace of the Hindu god Krishna.
Former Bhojpuri cinema star-singer Manoj Tiwari, the BJP’s candidate from North East Delhi, bested Congress rival Kanhaiya Kumar, marking his third consecutive win. Tiwari was the only sitting MP from Delhi retained by the BJP for the 18th Lok Sabha polls.
Ravi Kishan, another Bhojpuri cinema star and BJP contender from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, was elected for a second term, defeating Kajal Nishad from the Samajwadi Party.
Actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, a BJP candidate, made significant strides in Kerala’s Thrissur constituency, defeating VS Sunilkumar of the Communist Party of India to claim the Lok Sabha seat.
Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha, fielded by the Trinamool Congress from West Bengal’s Asansol, defeated BJP’s S S Ahluwalia. Sinha, with political stints in the BJP and Congress, joined TMC in 2022 to contest the Asansol by-election.
However, some celebrity politicians faced defeats. Actor-BJP politician Smriti Irani lost to Kishorilal Sharma of Congress in the Amethi constituency, and actor Dinesh Lal Yadav, known as Nirahua, was defeated by Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh.
In Andhra Pradesh, actor and Janasena Party chief Pawan Kalyan won the Pithapuram Assembly seat, defeating YSR Congress Party’s Vanga Geetha.
Bengali actor-turned-politician June Maliah of the TMC won from Medinipur, West Bengal, defeating BJP’s Agnimitra Paul. TMC’s three-term MP and actor Satabdi Roy secured a significant victory in Birbhum over BJP’s Debtanu Bhattacharya.
In West Bengal’s Hooghly and Ghatal constituencies, TMC’s celebrity candidates triumphed. Actor Rachna Banerjee won from Hooghly against BJP’s actor Locket Chatterjee, marking Banerjee’s first term. Dev Adhikary of TMC retained his Ghatal seat by defeating BJP’s Hiran Chatterjee, marking his third term.
Film personalities have had a long association with Indian politics, with Hindi cinema stars like Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, and even Amitabh Bachchan taking political plunges. In the South, actors like N T Rama Rao, M G Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa became mass leaders. Currently, popular faces in politics include Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Prakash Raj, Bhagwant Mann, Paresh Rawal, Urmila Matondkar, and Govinda.
