Mumbai: Cinema Associations Request Ashoke Pandit, the North West Constituency’s representative for Maha Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

Bollywood has suggested a candidate for the Lok Sabha elections for the first time. The Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA), which represents the majority of feature and TV film directors, and the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association (IMPPA), the primary organization for the Hindi film industry, have urged Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to field Ashoke Pandit from Mumbai’s north west constituency.

Pandit, a longtime supporter of Bollywood, served as the senior vice-president of IMPPA before. Additionally, he has spearheaded the effort to save Kashmiri Pandits, who were singled out by terrorists in their homeland. Later in the evening, the proposal made by the two other film organizations was also approved by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees’ Association.

Several movie stars have joined and succeeded in politics in the past, including Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna, Jaya Bachhan, Hema Malini, and others. However, this is the first time that the whole film industry has supported a candidate and encouraged him to run in the next local elections. According to information obtained, a number of well-known Bollywood figures have personally asked the BJP leadership to grant Pandit a ticket.

Amol Kirtikar is the Shiv Sena’s (UBT) candidate in the northwest Mumbai seat. He is the son of CM Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena member, Gajanan Kirtikar, the current Member of Parliament. Kirtikar Sr. is reluctant to run this time around since doing so would mean going up against his own son. The BJP is eager to run a candidate, but it is having trouble selecting one that is qualified. The whole film industry is expected to join the campaign if Pandit is handed the ticket.