Of twinkling and fallen stars

Many star candidates shone bright Thursday, pulling off impressive wins in the general elections - though the success was shared evenly by various political parties.

Many star candidates shone bright Thursday, pulling off impressive wins in the general elections - though the success was shared evenly by various political parties.

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Bollywood film stars Sunil Dutt (Mumbai North West), Dharmendra (Bikaner), Vinod Khanna (Gurdaspur), Raj Babbar (Agra), Jaya Prada (Rampur) and Govinda (Mumbai North) emerged victorious.

Cricketer-turned-commentator Navjot Singh Siddhu (Amritsar) was also successful in his electoral venture.

While Dutt and Govinda contested on a Congress ticket, the BJP had its victors in Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna and Siddhu.

Raj Babbar and Jaya Prada added to the tally of the Samajwadi Party.

But the BJP's other celebrity candidates Smriti Irani (Chandni Chowk) and cricketer Kirti Azad (Darbhanga) bit the dust while balladeer Bhupen Hazarika (BJP) lost in Guwahati