Bollywood has given numerous actors who have enthralled us with their performances. But, a few actors, at the height of their careers, decided to enter the world of politics. Many of these carved successful careers in politics. Here we list a few Bollywood actors who turned politicians.
Shatrughan Sinha
As far as actors turned politicians in Bollywood are concerned one of the first names that come to mind is Shatrughan Sinha. He is a BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) member. He has been a Lok Sabha member twice, from 2009 to 2014 and 2014 to 2019, and twice served at Rajya Sabha. Sinha made his foray into politics by going up in a by-election against fellow colleague Rajesh Khanna, where he lost by 25,000 votes. It was in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections that he won at the Patna Sahib constituency defeating Shekhar Suman, another celebrity. In fact, he won from that constituency at the next election as well. He has also served as the union health and family welfare minister from January 2003 to May 2004 followed by union minister of shipping during August 2004.
Hema Malini
Hema Malini entered politics in 1999 when she campaigned for BJP candidate Vinod Khanna for the Lok Sabha elections in the Gurdaspur constituency of Punjab. It was in February 2004 that she officially became a member of said party. She has served as an MP (Member of Parliament) in Rajya Sabha, the upper legislative house of India, from 2003 to 2009. At that time, she had been nominated by APJ Abdul Kalam, the then president of India. She was also elected to Lok Sabha in 2014.
Vinod Khanna
In his lifetime as a politician the late Vinod Khanna had been associated with the BJP. He stood from the Gurdaspur constituency of Punjab having joined the party in 1997. He was successful in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. He has served as the union minister for culture and tourism during July 2002. During December 2004 he became a part of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) where he served as a minister of state. In 2004 Khanna was elected again from Gurdaspur only to lose in 2009 followed by a victory in 2014.
Sunil Dutt
The late Sunil Dutt always had some keen interest in politics. His political career started in 1981 when he became the sheriff of Mumbai. It was in 1984 that he became a member of the Congress (I). Later on he joined the Indian National Congress (INC). He was elected as an MP from northwestern Mumbai on five occasions – 1984, 1989, 1991, 1999, and 2004. Incidentally, he had resigned in 1993 in order to protest the Bombay Riots that took place that year. He was an active worker who championed the cause of slum dwellers of Mumbai. He became the minister for youth affairs and sports in 2004 and held on to this post till he passed away in 2005 from a heart attack.
Jaya Prada
Jaya Prada has been an MP from the Rampur constituency from 2004 to 2014. It was in 1994 that the political career of Jaya Prada started when she joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) after being invited by its founder NT Rama Rao. This happened prior to the Lok Sabha elections that year. Ever since, she has continued to rise through the ranks. In 1994 it had been estimated that she would contest the elections. However, in spite of being offered a seat by Rama Rao she decided not to do so. Ever since, she has worked at the Samajwadi Party and later at Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).
Rajesh Khanna
It was in 1984 that Rajesh Khanna started to campaign for Congress upon being insisted by Rajiv Gandhi. His first election was in 1991 when he contested the seat of New Delhi against LK Advani. At 1589 votes the margin of votes was a narrow one. At that time Khanna insisted, and strongly so, that he had been cheated out of a win. When a by election took place for the same seat in 1992 he defeated Shatrughan Sinha by 25,000 votes. Till 1996 Khanna served as an MP from the New Delhi seat.
Raj Babbar
It was in 1989 that Raj Babbar started his political journey by becoming a member of Janata Dal. Later on he joined the Samajwadi Party for whom he was elected as an MP on three occasions. He also served in Rajya Sabha from 1994 to 1999. In 2008 he joined Congress and became an MP for the fourth time in 2009. In 2014 he lost to General VK Singh in the Lok Sabha elections when he contested from the Ghaziabad constituency. Right now he serves as the president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.
