Shatrughan Sinha wants to expand TMC's `Khela hobe' across the country, says not an outsider in West Bengal

Shatrugan Sinha, who has been a Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha member for two terms each, said "Mamata Banerjee holds the future of the country. I will strengthen her hands in expanding 'khela hobe' across the country."

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New Delhi/Kolkata: Actor-turned-politician Shatrugan Sinha who will be contesting from the industrial town of Asansol wants to take his party's slogan `Khela hobe' (Game is on) across the country. Popularly called `Shotgun' by his fans for his straightforward dialogue deliveries and speeches, Sinha also rejected the "outsider" tag given by his rivals and asserted he was "no less Bengali than any other Bengali".

Sinha, who has been a Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha member for two terms each, said "Mamata Banerjee holds the future of the country. I will strengthen her hands in expanding 'khela hobe' across the country." "Khela hobe" was the battle cry given by Banerjee in the fiercely contested assembly elections in West Bengal last year which the TMC had won in a resounding manner.

"I feel honoured by Mamata Banerjee herself announcing my name as the TMC candidate from Asansol in the Lok Sabha bypoll. "She is a tried, tested and successful politician who holds the nation's future hope against 'divisive politics' pursued by the government of the day," Sinha told PTI.

Asked whether he has quit the Congress in favour of the West Bengal chief minister, he said, "I will only say I have joined Banerjee in her fight for communal harmony and welfare of the poor."

After quitting the BJP, Sinha, who had served as minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, joined the Congress and unsuccessfully fought from his native Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in 2019. He was defeated by former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in the last parliamentary election.

The Congress did not give him much responsibility after the 2019 general polls. The actor-turned politician was lying low. Now with her name being announced by Banerjee for the parliamentary by-election from Asansol, Sinha has again hit the headlines.

"I am no less a Bengali than any other Bengali. I am not an outsider. Bengali language Bengali culture has been my love. I have done many films in Bengali, from Gautam Ghose's "Antarjali Jatra" to Shakti Samanta's "Mastan" and the Bengali language that I speak is not a dubbed language," he told PTI.

"How can anybody call me an 'outsider'? Like my 'janmabhoomi' (birth place) Bihar, Bengal has always been my weakness," he reasoned.

"Moreover, Asansol has a cosmopolitan population where besides my dear Bengali people, citizens from Bihar, Jharkhand and elsewhere are residing there in great numbers. If I am called an 'outsider' in Asansol, will you say the same for the Prime Minister contesting election from Varanasi?" he said.

Sinha's comments came amid protests by the opposition BJP wondering why the TMC, which had won the assembly polls on the poll plank of `Bangaliana' (Bengali cultural values) has nominated an "outsider" from the Lok Sabha seat in the state.

"I am an all India personality in terms of popularity, in terms of work. I have been blessed by people from all over the country, right from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh to Haryana and Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal.

The "insider-outsider" debate in West Bengal gained strength before the state election when the ruling TMC had dubbed the BJP as a "party of outsiders".

When asked why he left Congress suddenly, Sinha declined to comment on it. "I don't want to comment on it now. Because the focus is now on winning the Asansol seat," the actor turned politician known for his signature dialogue "khamosh."

On his choice of TMC, he said, "One should go in a new and better direction to do something good for the country." Sinha said notwithstanding being in a different party, he always had a good relationship with Banerjee.

"Despite being a BJP MP, I had participated in her opposition rally at Brigade `Maidan' (grounds) in Kolkata in 2019. I have always appreciated her dynamic leadership and it will be a privilege for me to work in the party headed by her," Sinha said.

Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha had joined Banerjee's party ahead of the eve of Bengal polls and now Shatrughan Sinha will be with her as part of the TMC's efforts to challenge the BJP in the 2024 general elections.