Bollywood actor Sunny Deol on Tuesday announced that he would be joining the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party after being inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to NDTV, the actor known for his all-time favourite “Dhai Kilo ka Haath” line from a 1990s film, joined the ruling party days after he met with party president Amit Shah.
He is likely to be the BJP candidate from Gurdaspur in Punjab.
"Like my father joined Atal Bihari Vajpayee, I have decided to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I want PM Modi for the next five years," said the actor in a short speech, flanked by two union ministers at the BJP office in Delhi.
"Want PM Modi for the next 5 years," says Sunny Deol after joining BJP
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Welcoming him to the party, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman referred to his blockbuster 1997 movie "Border" based on an episode from the India-Pakistan of 1971.
"Sunny Deol made the film Border which showed how the feeling of nationalism and patriotism when portrayed beautifully on film can touch a cord with the people," Sitharaman said, linking the brand new BJP recruit to the party's top election pitch of national security.
"It cannot be acting when it comes from the heart," added Union Minister Piyush Goyal.
Deol's last movie was "Mohalla Assi", shot in PM Modi's Varanasi constituency. His character was shown participating in kar seva (volunteering) for the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
After his meeting with Amit Shah last week, Sunny Deol had been non-committal. "I heard about the rumours that I am joining politics. I just met him [Amit Shah] and we took a photograph, that's it," he had said.
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