In another boost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Assembly elections, actor Arun Govil, who played the role of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, joined the party on Thursday. The actor came back in the limelight during nationwide lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when the epic TV show was rerun, and broke all previous records to become one of the most-watched entertainment shows worldwide.
“Some people are not ready to understand. They have some sort of allergy. They have to understand that Lord Ram is our ideal. Why would you want to resist? This will be fatal for nation-building. This country belongs to Lord Ram,” Govil said while joining the BJP.
The actor will not contest the elections, the BJP said, but will campaign for the party. The saffron party is seen to aim for right-wing voters in the states where elections will be held starting March 27 with Govil joining the BJP.
Assembly elections is West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry will be held from April 27 and the results will be declared on May 2.
The 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan has been a bone of contention between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal. During the Lok Sabha election, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was seen stopping her car to slam those shouting Jai Shri Ram. Her irritation with the slogan has taken an unusual turn with opponents easing her by shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ if they see her at an event, including the one held to commemorate the 124th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Kolkata on January 23 in the presence of PM Narendra Modi.
