Live updates from the 2021 assembly elections: Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party before the assembly elections in West Bengal, could appear at the polls, party sources told CNN-News18 . Chakraborty shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his rally on March 7 at the Calcutta brigade parade ground and joined the party on the same day. Hours after his induction, the actor said he will not skip any queues for the role of prime minister. “If (CM’s post) comes to me via protocol, I’ll consider it … but I won’t skip protocol.”
The BJP’s journey of making inroads into Tollywood began in 2019 after the party won 18 of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats. On July 18 of that year, up to 13 actors joined the BJP in Delhi and Kolkata. While none of them are stars, they are all popular faces on television or on the big screen. Chakraborty was once known for his radical left leanings, but later became close with several leaders on the left, including the late Subhash Chakraborty. He gained fame after debuting in Mrinal Sen’s award-winning film ‘Mrigayaa’.
In 2014, he was nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha by Trinamool’s head of Congress, Mamata Banerjee, but after two years he resigned citing health problems. He was the brand ambassador for the now defunct Saradha group of companies owned by Sudipta Sen (now behind bars). The actor has appeared in more than 350 films, including Bengali, Hindi, Hates, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Punjabi.
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