Bollywood tadka is conspicuously missing in the run up to the Delhi Assembly elections. Be it the BJP or the Congress, both parties appear to have given a go by to Bollywood’s star campaigners.
The decision appears to have been influenced by tight control being exerted by the Election Commission on poll expenditure. This is the first time that there would be no stars in the Assembly polls in Delhi. The Election Commission has made it clear that if a Bollywood star comes to campaign for any politician, the expenditure incurred on the actor/actress will be included in the candidate’s poll expenses. Each candidate’s expenditure limit has been restricted to Rs 14 lakh in the Assembly polls by the ECI. Also, all candidates are expected to maintain a register for routine election expenditure.
Following the directives of Election Commission of India (ECI), both Congress and BJP have submitted a list of 40 of its star campaigners for Delhi polls. As per the poll panel’s guidelines, registered political parties can appoint no more than 20 star campaigners. But for recognised parties, like Congress or BJP, the limit has been pegged at 40 such campaigners. Officials say that political parties will now have to select their star campaigners keeping in mind the limit. All political parties have been informed about the new stipulation introduced by the poll panel. The campaigners are appointed under Section 77(A) of the Representation of Peoples Act.
Earlier Bollywood stars used to play an important role in poll campaigning for both Congress and BJP. Khushboo, Suniel Shetty, Mahima Chaudhry, Govinda, Raza Murad, Gulshan Grover, Nagma, late Rajesh Khanna, Chunky Pandey, Mukesh Khanna, Reena Roy used to campaign for the Congress while Hema Malini (before joining the party), Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, late Dara Singh, Suresh Oberoi, Jackie Shroff, Shatrughan Sinha, Smriti Irani used to campaign for the BJP in the election. later, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Singh, Vinod Khanna and Dharmendra joined the BJP.