Govinda says that he had won the 2004 Lok Sabha elections through the support of fans instead of underworld.
One more loose mouth leader of BJP made shocking allegation against opponent after a span of 12 years. The incumbent Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik has alleged that Bollywood actor Govinda had taken assistance of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and builder Hiten Thakur’s to defeat him in Mumbai North in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
When AV spoke to a voter Vinod Dube from North Mumbai he said, “Those days, Hitendra Thakur did not oppose Govinda as he was a leading actor and was adored by everyone. Apart from that the anti-incumbency factor played a vital role. During Atalji’s government Indian shining campaign was a big failure. Naik was three times MP from this constituency. People wanted a change in leadership as he failed to meet their expectations.”
Another voter from Naigaon, Suresh Jain a builder said, “Govinda was a popular actor and had much more fan following than Ram Naik. If he had taken Dawood’s assistance that means the voters of Naik had voted against him? BJP leader needs to realize, that people chose the popular leader among the available choice of candidates.”
Ram Naik, in his memoir ‘Chaireveti, Chaireveti’ (Keep Moving) written in Marathi, mentioned that despite being a three-time MP, he was unable to digest his defeat by a margin of only 11,000 votes. There was thin margin because the conservative voters voted for him but the youth was more inclined towards the actor which resulted into the latter’s victory.
The memoir, which was released in Mumbai on April 25, mentioned that Govinda was friends with Dawood and Thakur and the Bollywood actor used them to terrorise voters.
Former Thane Gramin police officer said, “Voters are smart and no one can actually terrorise them and there was no such incidence which came to our notice during that time, all these allegations are baseless. If Dawood or Thakur were kingmakers then BJP would have never come to power in Maharashtra. Now the saffron party is in power and they have failed to deliver the promises made by them. They may not retain power in the next election so you cannot keep blaming opponents. No one used their muscle power to poll votes against Naik.”
Govinda said, “Why would I need anyone’s support at that time, when I was at the peak of my film career? I trust my fans and people those who love me. By saying such things, does Ram Naik mean that voters of the constituency were sold into the hands of the underworld? Naik doubts the integrity of voters, he should not insult anyone by saying such things.”
“At this juncture when I am making a comeback into films, I humbly request Ram Naik not to tarnish my image and create hurdles in my work,” the actor added.
