Not just sitting at home and blaming the politicians for rising inflation, corruption and communal ideology in the country, actor and dancer-turned-politician Jaaved Jaaferi jumps into the boogie woogie of democracy hoping to bring a change. He is not afraid of big names like Rajnath Singh or Rita Bahuguna Joshi. He believes in delivering the message. In a freewheeling interview the Aam Aadmi Party candidate from lucknow, Jaaved Jaaferi tells Hujjat Raza his priority about lucknow and his poll agenda
After having a successful career in Bollywood, what inspired you to enter politics and contest electionsIJ
My inspiration was Arvind Kejriwal! I was angry, frustrated and even cried seeing the condition of the country and the Government was not ready to take any responsibility. Even the Opposition is not good enough to rectify the mistakes of the Government. I was monitoring Kejriwal since his Right to Information (RTI) movement and then came the anti-graft movement. Then people witnessed his success in Delhi. Quoting a dialogue of a movie Pyaasa “where it is crime to share the sorrows of the poor where it is cowardice to face troubles. In such a world I shall never be at peace”. It reminds me of Arvind Kejriwal who even after becoming the Chief Minister met people and heard their problems.
Despite having no connection to lucknow, why did you agree to contest from hereIJ
Initially, the party was considering to feild me from Mumbai but I was not comfortable to contest against Priya Dutt due to respect towards Sunil Duttji and friendship. Then I was asked to contest elections from lucknow. Some consider my candidature from here as ‘parachute landing,’ but if it is so then I think I landed on my own land (nation). Many came here after running away from somewhere but I have come to my people.
Whom do you take as the key opponent against you among the big names in poll frayIJ
Be it Rajnath or Rita Joshi, our fight is against the system and all the political parties are collective forces so I don’t want to point finger at any individual.
What is your agenda IJ
I am considering every issue — water, infrastructure, jobs, etc. — all these daily problems are eventually connected with corruption, communalism and oppression. My fight is against all these odds. The only solution is Swaraj which is completely applicable in present scenario. De-centralisation will give power to the people.
How do you compare other political parties with AAPIJ
There were several political parties which are 100, 80 and 50 years old but still they were not able to bring any change in the system. And then there is AAP — the youngest of all political parties — which aims to change. For building parks in name of Dr Ambedkarji `5000 crore was spent, but I don’t think that Dr Ambedkar — who was messiah of the backwards — ever dreamt for such development. If this amount would have been spent on city’s development the scenario of the city would have been much different.
How are you planning your campaign and what are the main issues in your constituency IJ
Although there are advance means of reaching out to the people like social networking and SMS. But I found door-to-door campaigning much better as here we get the chance to interact with the people and know about their issues. During interaction, I found that there were different problems in lucknow like homelessness, poverty, pollution in Gomti River, education, civic issues and unemployment for youths. The city is famous for Chickankari and Zardozi but the workers live in apathy.
What will you do if your party winsIJ
People often say that candidates run away after winning elections but I will give an affidavit of staying at least six months in my constituency and six in Mumbai. I am happy that my family, especially my wife, supports me. As I have not entered politics to earn money, I will continue to work in films and shows to earn the livelihood for my family and will work as an MP to serve the nation and people of my constituency.