Bollywood actor Sunny Deol on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party amid speculation that he may be fielded from a Lok Sabha seat in Punjab.
“Like my father Dharmendra associated himself with Vajpayeeji, I am associating with Modiji. He has done a lot for the country and he can take us forward. Country needs leaders like him,” the 62-year-old leader said after joining the saffron party.He added that whatever he does, he would do it with all his heart.
Welcoming him into the fold defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: “I am pleased to welcome a firebrand actor, popular, very committed to his art, young brave artist Sunny Deol to the BJP.”
Recalling Deol family’s long association with the BJP, party leader Piyush Goel recalled how Sunny Deol’s father and veteran actor Dharmendra, despite being unwell at that time, agreed to contest from Bikaner in 2004 and won handsomely. Goel hoped Sunny Deol would leave his imprint on politics.
Deol’s father Dharmendra represented the Bikaner Lok Sabha seat from 2004 t o 2009. In the current Lok Sabha elections, Dharmendra has made a few appearances to campaign for his wife Hema Malini who is a sitting MP from Mathura.
Deol had met BJP president Amit Shah last week amid speculation that he may contest from Amritsar or Gurdaspur.
Also Read | BJP chief Amit Shah meets Sunny Deol, fuels speculation for Amritsar seat
Sunny Deol’s Bollywood career spans over three decades with the actor giving Indian cinema goers many memorable films such as Betaab, Border, Damini, Gadar and Ghayal among many others.
The actor is currently going through a lull with his films Ghayal Once Again, Poster Boyz, Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se, Mohalla Assi and Bhaiaji Superhit failing to do well at the box office.
Sunny is awaiting the release of his film, Blank, in which he plays the chief of anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief.
All 13 seats of Punjab will go to polls in the last phase on May 19. The results will be announced on May 23.
First Published: Apr 23, 2019 12:00 IST
