BJP's Arun Govil wins Uttar Pradesh's Meerut by 10,585 votes

BJP candidate and star of the 1987 Ramayan series, Arun Govil, won the Meerut seat against Samajwadi Party candidate Sunita Verma by a margin of 10,585 votes.

Arun Govil, renowned for his portrayal of Lord Ram in the popular TV serial Ramayan, is trailing by a margin of 7,105 votes against Samajwadi Party's (SP) Sunita Verma from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut constituency in the Lok Sabha election, as of 4:25 pm on Tuesday, according to ECI.

BJP candidate from Meerut Arun Govil (Sourced)

The actor-turned-politician’s closest rival, Sunita Verma, the Dalit candidate from SP, secured 5,35,884 votes and finished second.

BJP candidate for Meerut Lok Sabha constituency Arul Govil (HT Digital team)

Govil ran in the elections on three major promises, establish an airport in Meerut, build a sports stadium, and complete the city’s inner ring road to improve last-mile connectivity.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced his candidature from his hometown Meerut on March 24, replacing three-time MP Rajendra Agarwal, who won the Lok Sabha seat in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

Govil, aged 72, joined the BJP in the presence of senior party leaders in New Delhi on March 18, 2021. This Lok Sabha election marks his debut in electoral politics.

He graduated with an engineering degree from Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut. During his college years, he was involved in dramas and stage shows.

In 1975, he relocated to Mumbai, then known as Bombay, to join his brother’s business. However, he soon realised that it was not aligned with his aspirations.

The BJP leader started his acting career with the movie Paheli in 1977 and gained popularity with Sawan Ko Aane Do in 1979. But it was his role as Lord Rama in the TV series Ramayan in 1986 that made him famous across the country.

In 1988, Arun Govil had campaigned for the Congress party in Allahabad, now known as Prayagraj. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had sought his support for the party’s candidate, Suneel Shastri, who was contesting against VP Singh. Govil had dressed up as Ram for the campaign, but Congress did not win the seat.

Meerut went to polling in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 26 and recorded a voter turnout of 58.70%. The parliamentary constituency comprises five assembly segments including Hapur, Meerut Cantonment, Kithore, Meerut, and Meerut South.

The Lok Sabha polls for 543 seats were held in seven phases starting from April 19, with the last phase on June 1. The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking a rare third term at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.