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Shatrughan Sinha: From Atal-Advani's star campaigner to a member of Didi's army
Shatrughan Sinha served as minister in the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. A critic of PM Modi, he joined the Congress in 2019 after being denied BJP ticket from Patna Sahib.
Actor-turned politician Shatrughan Sinha is set to return to the Lok Sabha with a thumping victory in the by-elections to Asansol seat in West Bengal. After an illustrious career on the celluloid, the 76-year-old leader's political journey has not been without twists and turns. From being one of the star faces in the Bharatiya Janata Party during the Atal-Advani era to joining the Congress and now a member of Mamata's army, Sinha continues to remain in headlines.
Here's a brief look at the ‘Shotgun’s political journey so far.
Donning the saffron
Shatrughan Sinha joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 1980s, at a time when the saffron party was helmed by the duo of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani.
The actor-politician entered electoral politics in 1992 when he unsuccessfully contested a Lok Sabha by-election for New Delhi constituency against fellow actor Rajesh Khanna, who won on a Congress ticket. Sinha later opened up on his fallout with Khanna, saying the latter was upset with his decision to contest against him.
Later, he was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1996 and then again in 2002. He served as the union minister for health and family welfare (2002-2003) and later as minister for shipping (2003-2004) in the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was the first Bollywood actor to become a union cabinet minister.
In 2009, Sinha won the Lok Sabha polls from Patna Sahib constituency, defeating the actor Shekhar Suman who was contesting on a Congress ticket.
Fallout with Modi
In 2014, Shatrughan Sinha retained his Patna Sahib seat by defeating Congress candidate Kunal Singh by over one lakh votes. However, it is said that he was upset over not being given a ministerial berth in the government headed by Narendra Modi.
In the years to come, Sinha became a bitter critic of Prime Minister Modi. After the BJP lost to then RJD-JDU Mahagathbandhan in 2015 Bihar polls, Sinha had called for the saffron party to fix responsibility.
In the 2019 polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party headed by Amit Shah replaced Shatrughan Sinha with then union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib. The disgruntled politician had attended rallies called by opposition parties in Kolkata and New Delhi earlier that year.
Shotgun with Congress
After more than three decades in the BJP, Sinha joined the Congress on April 6, 2019. Hours after he joined the Congress, Sinha was given a party ticket to contest from Patna Sahib.
“I saw democracy changing into dictatorship in the BJP…It has become one-man show and two-man army," Sinha attacked PM Modi and Amit Shah.
However, he lost to BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad by nearly three lakh votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
From Congress to Mamata's TMC
On March 14, the Trinamool Congress announced the candidature of Shatrughan Sinha from Asansol constituency. The seat was vacated by Babul Supriyo who had quit the BJP last year and joined the TMC.
