Like this Lok Sabha which is hardly 18 days away… elections in the past have also been garnished by the presence of celebrity candidates.
The list this year is as follows… Kangana Ranaut, Govinda Ahuja, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha, Yusuf Pathan, Kirti Azad, Arun Govil, Ravi Kishen, Nirahua, to name a few… phew…
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In this article I shall present some facts and statistics which may reveal the utility (?) of such candidates.
The India electorate thrives high on entertainment and subsequently personalities from the allied fields have a huge fan base.
Realising this trend, political parties freely distribute tickets to Bollywood celebrities and sport stars to create a rock solid support base.
And this phenomenon is not new. This trend apparently began way back in the Sixties when film stars were nominated to the Rajya Sabha, however, currently all political parties have a penchant for film stars even for the General Elections.
Prithviraj Kapoor… the patriarch of the Kapoor Khandan was the first movie star to enter Parliament as a nominated member to the Rajya Sabha. Even megastars like Bollywood’s Shahenshah Amitabh Bachchan, contested Lok Sabha elections in 1984 and defeated the giant HN Bahuguna by one of the highest victory margins in Lok Sabha polls.
It is needless to say the politicians ride the popularity crest of these stars and can easily reach millions of fans who may be swayed in favour of the candidate or a party. The example on hand is when in 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the wedding of Priyanka and Jonas, and the couple reciprocated with a heartfelt Instagram post to her almost 40 million followers. Even as the PM made a social appearance, the meeting may have hugely benefited the party or may have had an impact among the fans of Priyanka.
Currently, with social media, celebrities are seen 24x7x365 saying something or the other with regard to every issue.
Celebrities are often seen endorsing the polio drive and urging the voters to exercise their voting rights. In a country which now has the power of social media, once upon a time, especially Bollywood celebrities had a huge fan following and they also controlled crowd sentiments in a major way.
CREDIBILITY? FACTOR
However, the credibility factor of these stars is also a matter of discussion.
It may be noted how Tendulkar was trolled throughout his term in the Rajya Sabha for his lack of participation whether it was in the form of attendance, speeches or asking questions. It was also argued that Tendulkar’s seat was wasted. However, such is not the case with Colonel Rathore who was applauded for his performance leading the sports ministry. However, the difference was so much that while Tendulkar was a nominated Rajya Sabha MP, Rathore was given a Lok Sabha ticket and he had to slog to win the masses support to acquire his position in Parliament.
Actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol went a step ahead. He reportedly neither had time for the people of Gurdaspur nor was he visible in Parliament.
Rekha’s attendance in the RS was around 5 per cent while Tendulkar’s was reported at 8 per cent. The UPA government nominated them to the RS and the outcome is there for one and all to see.
On average, the 19 celebrity MPs logged 66% attendance compared to the 16th Lok Sabha average of 80%. Only six celebrity MPs marked attendance of 80% or above. BJP MP and noted film star Hema Malini logged a mere 39% attendance.
However, there are high points too… BJP MP from Chandigarh, Kirron Kher, asked the maximum (335) questions, above the 16th Lok Sabha average of 293.
Moon Moon Sen, Odia film actor Sidhant Mohapatra and Shatrughan Sinha did not ask a single question in their five-year terms.
Telugu film actor Murali Mohan Maganti from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh was next with 267 questions, followed by Bhojpuri singer and actor Manoj Tiwari (258), George Baker (255), and actor Innocent (217) who is primarily known for his works in Malayalam cinema.
MPs in the 16th Lok Sabha utilised 85% of the developmental funds they were allocated, leaving 15% unutilised–Rs 1,806.08 crore of the total amount of Rs 12,051.36 crore.
Sandhya Roy reported the maximum (98.8%) utilisation of MPLADS funds among the 19 celebrity MPs, as on April 5, 2019, higher than the average.
Deepak (Dev) Adhikari (96.7%) was next in the celebrity list after Roy, followed by Satabdi (Banerjee) Roy (95.6%), an actor known for her work in Bengali cinema, Kirron Kher (91.2%) and Shatrughan Sinha (91.1%). Babul Supriyo reported the least (74.1%) utilisation of MPLAD funds.
It may be noted that cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and film star Rekha, both Rajya Sabha (RS) MPs, were nominated in 2012 by the UPA government.
Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his unhappiness over the poor attendance of MPs from either house. He said in the party meeting that attending Parliament was the basic responsibility of the elected members. He further said that he “could call any of them any time”.
Actor-turned TMC MP, Nusrat Jahan for the period 01-06-2019 to 10-02-2024, her presence was recorded at a mere 23 per cent while the national average stood at 79 per cent. Number of debates 12 and her Private Members’ Bill figure is pegged at 0 per cent.
According to Article 104 of the Constitution, if a member is absent from either House of Parliament (Upper or Lower) for 60 days, their seat would be considered vacant!
Thus, in the world’s biggest democracy, it is time we asked our governments if we really need celebrity candidates who have other sources of incomes and are involved in acting, singing etc and hence given the trend do they do justice to their electorate. However, time and again, despite the celebrity candidates not rising to the occasion, the electorate it seems doesn’t matter or hardly have a choice.
(The writer is a senior journalist and former Senior Associate Editor, O Heraldo)
