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Lok Sabha elections 2019: Sunny Deol banks on Punjabi roots, patriotic image
Sunny, 59, has reportedly agreed to the saffron party’s offer to contest polls after a little reluctance.
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Popular for his patriotic roles and hard-hitting dialogues, Bollywood star Sunny Deol has taken a surprise plunge into politics and is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from the border constituency of Gurdaspur on the BJP ticket.
Sunny, 59, has reportedly agreed to the saffron party’s offer to contest polls after a little reluctance.
He may be a greenhorn in politics, but he comes across as ‘son of the soil’ due to his Punjabi roots.
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His biggest assets are seen to be his family background of a Jat Sikh, a strong Punjabi appeal and the popularity he enjoys for the patriotic roles he played in his films.
His father and Bollywood star Dharmendra has been famous in the film industry as ‘Punjab da puttar’ and the Deol family has been credited for promoting budding stars from Punjab.
Sunny was born to Dharmendra’s first wife Parkash Kaur at their native village Sahnewal in Ludhiana district in 1959, before his father shifted his family to Mumbai.
Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh may have dubbed Sunny as an “aging” actor, but political observers feel taking him lightly could prove disastrous for the Congress as he strikes a chord among Jat Sikh voters who feel proud in owning the Deol family.
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Though Sunny has won accolades for playing the roles of an ‘angry young man’, in real life he is known to be shy, reticent and humble.
PATRIOTIC IMAGE
His patriotic image seems to be the main reason behind the BJP’s move to field Sunny from this border constituency.
His blockbusters included ‘Gadar’ in which he played the role of a Sikh truck driver Tara Singh who took on Pakistanis and ‘Border’ wherein he led the ‘Battle of Longewala’ against Pakistan in the role of Maj Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met Sunny a day before the actor filed nomination from Gurdaspur, tweeted a picture with the star and wrote his dialogue from ‘Gadar’ — “Hindustan zindabaad tha, zindabaad hai aur zindabaad rahega”.
Meanwhile, Gurdaspur Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar has taken potshots at Sunny, citing various actors who turned politicians but shunned the electorate.
However, his remark will not have much resonance in Gurdaspur, the seat represented by late Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna four times. Khanna is credited with carrying out a lot of development in the constituency.
However, the contest in Gurdaspur will not be easy for Sunny as the Congress has a well-oiled election machinery whereas the SAD-BJP is a divided house in the segment.
