30-sec summary
In recent times, there's been talk about educated politicians should be elected for parliament. But things seem to be quite different when it comes to Bollywood celebrities. For some of them, politics appears to be a backup plan. When their movies don't do well, they consider joining politics. However, as soon as their movies start doing better, they might leave politics behind. This can be disappointing for the people who voted for them and hoped they would work hard to bring progress to their area. A recent example is Sunny Deol, who, after a successful movie like Gadar 2, is now expressing his desire to step away from politics, suggesting that he feels politics might not be the best fit for him.
Sunny Deol: From Actor to Politician
Sunny Deol stepped into the world of movies with the romantic film "Betaab" in 1983, which turned out to be the second highest-earning Indian film of that year. He continued to deliver hit movies like "Paap Ki Duniya" (1988), "Tridev" (1989), "ChaalBaaz" (1989), and "Ghayal" in the 1990s. "Ghayal" was a big success and marked a period of great achievement for Deol throughout the 90s. He kept giving one hit after another from 1991 to 2001.
However, things changed after 2004 as Deol struggled to create successful movies. Most of his films faced failure except for a few like "Yamla Pagla Deewana" and "Apne." In the face of numerous setbacks, Deol decided to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 23 April 2019.
He took part in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections and emerged victorious from the Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab, defeating his rival Sunil Jakhar of the Indian National Congress by a margin of 82,459 votes. This marked the beginning of his political career.
Deol Politics Statitcs and future plans
Sunny Deol had promised many things to the people when he was elected as part of the Lok Sabha in 2019. But during his time in office, he only asked one question in the parliament and didn't talk much. In the 12 parliament sessions of about 246 days, he only went for 45 days, which is about 18.26% of the time. Most MPs ask around 156 questions on average, but he only asked one. He also didn't join any discussions in the parliament, while most MPs take part in about 42.7 debates. This shows that he didn't take part in the work as much as people might have expected.
After facing challenges in his film career, "Gadar 2" marked a turning point for Sunny Deol as it became a huge success and an all-time blockbuster. Following this achievement, Sunny Deol developed a sense that he might be better suited for his career as an actor than as a politician. He made a decision not to participate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Sunny Deol expressed, "When I joined politics, I thought certain things would happen, but now I realize I can do those things as an actor. People are showing me a lot of love. When things don't seem right, I think about exploring other paths." He also added that he is too good for politics and he won't be contesting any elections in 2024 and will maintain his identity as an actor.
Other Celebs with Limited Engagement in Parliament
During the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Govinda contested as a candidate from the Congress party and triumphed in the North Mumbai constituency by defeating veteran BJP leader Ram Naik. However, as his Bollywood career regained momentum, he seemed to disappear from both his elected position and the Parliament. Records of Parliament attendance indicate that Govinda only attended around 10% of all the Parliament sessions, which is quite low considering his responsibility as an elected representative.
Shatrughan Sinha, on the other hand, has a reasonably good attendance record of 66% in Parliament. But the problem is he didn't ask even a single question throughout his entire term. He refrained from participating in any debates as well, essentially becoming a silent figure in the Lok Sabha, merely holding a seat without an active voice in parliamentary proceedings.
Our Opinion
It's concerning to see how some individuals, especially those with influence and fame, can treat their roles as elected representatives in our country so casually. It becomes problematic when those who hold positions of power take their roles lightly and fail to live up to the promises they made during their election campaigns. In a country like ours, where every vote counts and where political decisions can impact millions of lives, it's essential that elected members take their roles seriously. Those who enter politics should honor the trust placed in them by their constituents and actively engage in the tasks they've been entrusted with.
True representation requires consistent participation, constructive questioning, and meaningful debates. When celebrities prioritize other pursuits without delivering on their political promises, it's the people who suffer the consequences. As voters, we should hold our elected representatives accountable for their actions and remind them that public office is not just a backup plan, but a commitment to serve the nation and its citizens.
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