Bollywood Celebrities Who Turned to Politics in the Last 30 Years

While campaigning, every political party looks for a familiar and popular face to support their campaign, and what’s better than Bollywood actors? In the history of Indian politics, many Bollywood actors have to taken a turn towards a political career, some have tried to create an impact, and some have left the journey midway. 

Let’s look at the actors who have tried to establish a political career in the last 30 years:

1. Urmila Matondkar 

After having a decent acting career, the female actor joined politics in 2019 and contested from Indian National Congress. Citing internal politics, she left INC and joined Shiv Sena very recently in December 2020. 

2. Sunny Deol

After Dharmendra, his son decided to join politics; the actor joined the Bhartiya Janata Party in 2019 and won the 2019 general elections from the Gurdaspur constituency. 

3. Prakash Raj

Very few actors have the courage to fight as an independent candidate; actor Prakash Raj contested in the 2019 general election as an independent candidate but lost the elections. 

4. Kamal Hassan

The south superstar, Kamal Hassan, announced in 2018 that he is forming his own regional party, Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNK) in Tamil Nadu. The party contested in the 2019 general elections but lost the elections. 

5. Gul Panag

Gul Panag is known for her activism in the area of women empowerment, the actor, in 2014, joined Aam Aadmi Party and contested from the Chandigarh seat but lost the elections to BJP candidate Kirron Kher.

6. Paresh Rawal

The brilliantly talented actor is known for his roles in Andaz Apna Apna, Here Pheri, Hungama and OMG – Oh My God. The actor joined Bhartiya Janata Party in 2014 and won the 2014 general elections from Ahmedabad East Constituency. The actor served as an MP of Lok Sabha from 2014-2019.

7. Javed Jaffrey

The Indian actor and comedian joined Aam Aadmi Party in 2014 and contested the 2014 general elections from Lucknow but lost to BJP’s Rajnath Singh.

 

8. Mithun Chakraborty

Hailed as the superstar of Bengali cinema, Mithun’s political career began after West Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamta Banerjee, nominated the actor’s name for Rajya Sabha elections of 2014. The actor resigned as a Rajya Sabha MP in the year 2016. 

 

9. Kirron Kher

Apart from her acting career, the female actor is also known for her activism in various socio-political issues; the actor joined Bhartiya Janata Party in 2009 and has been very vocal about her support to prime minister Narendra Modi. The actor won the 2014 general elections from Chandigarh Constituency and again secured a winning in the 2019 general elections from Chandigarh constituency. 

 

10. Manoj Tiwari

Manoj Tiwari first joined Samajwadi Party in 2009 but lost the 15th Lok Sabha Elections in the Gorakhpur constituency. Later on, he joined the Bhartiya Janata Party and won the 2014 general election from the North East Delhi constituency. He again secured a winning from the same constituency in the 2019 general elections. 

11. Chiranjeevi

Chiranjeevi is an Indian actor and is very well for his dancing skills; the actor, in 2008, started his regional party, Praja Rajyam, in Andhra Pradesh and won the 2009 general elections. In 2011, Chiranjeevi merged his party with Indian National Congress and was nominated to Rajya Sabha in 2012 to serve as a Rajaya Sabha MP. The actor was also sworn in as the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. 

 His political career was quite strong until a rift between the parties. Since the 2014 general elections, Chiranjeevi has stayed out of politics and reportedly has not attended any sessions of INC either. 

 

12. Jaya Bachchan

Jaya Bachchan has had a decade-long Bollywood career; in 2004, the actor was elected from the Samajwadi Party for Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament elections. She got consecutive terms in 2006, 2012, and 2018. The actor is very active and is present in almost every session of the Rajya Sabha. 

 

13. Nafisa Ali

Nafisa Ali joined politics in 2004 and lost the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections from South Kolkata. In 2009, she then contested from Lucknow constituency for Samajwadi Party. But in the same term, she then rejoined the Indian National Congress again.

 

14. Dharmendra

The actor had a brilliant career in Bollywood but then decided to join politics in 2004 and served as a Lok Sabha MP representing Bikaner from 2004-2009 on behalf of BJP. The actor was heavily criticised a lot for his absence in the parliamentary sessions. 

 

15. Govinda

The actor joined Indian National Congress in the year 2004 and was elected as the MP of Lok Sabha from Mumbai. According to sources, he did contribute to education and health, but he was also criticised for his absence in parliamentary sessions. Finally, in 21008, Govinda decided to leave politics and concentrated on what he does best, acting.

 

16. Hema Malini

The dream girl of Bollywood was first nominated by the then President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, for Rajya Sabha MP and served as one from 2003-2009. The actor joined Bhartiya Janata Party in 2004. Malini won the 2014 general elections from the Mathura constituency.

 

17. Smriti Irani

Television actor Smriti Irani joined Bhartiya Janata Party in 2003, she was defeated in the 2014 general elections in the Amethi constituency by INC president, Rahul Gandhi. But in the same year, PM Modi appointed her as the Human Resource Development Minister in his cabinet. After the reshuffling of cabinets in 2016, she was given the Ministry of textiles, and in 2017, she was handed over the additional charge of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as well.

 

18. Vinod Khanna

The veteran actor joined Bhartiya Janata Party in 1997 and is the only Bollywood actor to have secured a winning in 4 Lok Sabha elections. (1998,1999, 2004 and 2014). He has served as a Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture and External Affairs as well. 

 

19. Shatrughan Sinha

The Veteran actor first joined the Bhartiya Janata Party and won the Patna Sahib constituency in the 2009 general elections, and also won the 2014 general elections. 

Shatrughan was the first actor to become a cabinet minister; he had the department of Health and Family Welfare (2003-2004) and the department of Shipping (2004). After he was not given a seat for the 2019 general elections, the actor left BJP and joined Indian National Congress

 

20. Rajesh Khanna

Hailed as the first superstar of Bollywood, Rajesh Khanna started campaigning for Congress in 1984. In 1992’s by-elections, Khanna won by defeating his friend and co-actor, Shatrughan Sinha. The actor retained the seat until 1196, after which he no longer remained in the political arena. However, he left Parliament but continued to campaign for INC till the 2012 Punjab elections.