Govinda Likely to Join Shiv Sena Shinde Faction Following Meeting with CM

Mumbai: It has been speculated that Bollywood actor Govinda is all set to re-enter politics. A few days ago, actor Govinda reportedly met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at his Varsha residence. Govinda had earlier contested and won the Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket. Now that Govinda has met the Chief Minister, it is being wondered if he will re-enter politics. 

Uddhav Thackeray had announced the name of Amol Kirtikar from the North West Mumbai constituency. Sitting MP Gajanan Kirtikar is in the Shiv Sena-Shinde faction. However, Gajanan Kirtikar has refused to contest the seat as Amol Kirtikar has been fielded in the elections. The scrutiny of the candidate for this seat has begun. After Govinda's meeting with Shinde, he is set to join the Shiv Sena-Shinde group in the coming days, ABP has said, quoting sources. 

Govinda had earlier won the North Mumbai seat in 2004 on a Congress ticket defeating BJP's Ram Naik. The constituency has a large northern population which can be at Govind's benefit. There is also talk among the leaders of the Grand Alliance that Govinda will get good votes if he gets the support of the Grand Alliance. 

Govinda, the giant killer

The North Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency is considered a BJP stronghold. The constituency comprises of Borivali, Dahisar, Magathane, Kandivali East, Charkop, and Malad West assembly segments. Govinda was fielded by the Congress in the same constituency in the 2004 elections. Govinda became a giant killer by defeating Ram Naik, a five-time MP at that time. Govinda had defeated Ram Naik by 48,000 votes.