When Govinda said it was a ‘big mistake’ to join politics

Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS

“It was a big mistake to join politics… was never my cup of tea,” actor Govinda had famously said in 2012, five years after he resigned from Congress. Now, after a 16-year sabbatical, Bollywood’s “comedy king” is back on the political stage, joining the Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Sources said Govinda is likely to be fielded from the Mumbai North-West seat. The constituency, however, is not alien to Govinda as the actor had contested successfully from the seat on a Congress ticket in the 2004 Lok Sabha election.

Govinda, coming on the back of successful Bollywood hits like ‘Akhiyon Se Goli Maare‘ and ‘Chalo Ishq Ladaaye‘, won the Mumbai North constituency, defeating heavyweight candidate Ram Naik of the BJP.

However, he pulled out of the Lok Sabha race ahead of the 2009 elections, and blamed his rivals in the Congress for creating obstacles for him during his tenure.

The actor had said that while the Congress central leadership was willing to re-nominate him from the Mumbai North seat, some people in the state unit “did not want to convey the message to me”.

“I was literally gheraoed within my own party. Some people did not want to work with me,” Govinda had then said.

He subsequently resigned from the Congress. During his tenure, there were allegations that the Bollywood star was not accessible.

WILL NEVER RETURN TO POLITICS: GOVINDA IN 2013

Years later, Govinda, speaking at the World Marathi Literary meet in Thane in 2012, said that politics was not his cup of tea. “Politics was never in our blood and in our family… I will never return to it,” he had said.

In 2013, he reiterated his stand, saying that joining politics was perhaps the biggest mistake of his life and asserted that he struggled to revive his acting career after 2009.

“If I am given a chance to change all that, then this is one part of my life I would always like to change,” the actor said.

He also said that he had put on a lot of weight during his time in politics. A report said that he weighed around 100 kg,

“When I decided to make a comeback in films, it became very difficult to lose that weight, but still I tried my best. I am working very hard, but all the years that I have wasted in politics are taking a toll on my career,” Govinda said.

SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA