Even as the names of Bollywood actors Rishi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Sunny Deol and also Kavita Khanna — wife of late Gurdaspur MP Vinod Khanna — are doing the rounds as probables for the vacant Lok Sabha seat, BJP sources claim the nominee is most likely to be someone from among party cadres — someone who is supported by the sangathan (organisation) and the sangh (RSS).
While “no meeting” on either discussing or finalising the candidate has been held and “neither has the Punjab unit sent a panel (of names)”, they said, the growing list of prospective candidates for the important seat also include Swaran Salaria (whom the BJP overlooked in 2014 in favour of Khanna), former Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna and ex-Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma.
Apart from them, references to other state leaders like Dinesh Kumar Babbu continue to be made in this context after the death of four-time BJP MP Vinod Khanna.
Notably, even in 2014 Khanna’s candidature was opposed by some state leaders with Salaria stated to be the main opponent. He is considered close to the all-powerful Sangh and also enjoys the support of yoga guru Ramdev but Khanna was preferred over him.
More recently the names of Bollywood actors — Rishi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Sunny Deol and Raveena Tandon — have been added to the list of speculated candidates along with late MP’s son Akshaye Khanna and wife Kavita.
However, as per party leaders here, the contest for Gurdaspur is expected to be a tough one. The ruling party in the state — the Congress — will use all its might to wrest the seat from the BJP.
The BJP needs to win Gurdaspur to add up to its numbers for upcoming Presidential and Vice-Presidential polls but it remains to be seen whether the byelection will be finalised by then.
Sources say the expected tough fight for the seat and the state of BJP affairs in Punjab necessitated the need for a strong candidate — someone who should not just have a fan following (like a filmstar) but also have the support of sangathan.
Though Kavita Khanna, who nurtured her husband’s constituency in his absence, may be a suitable candidate, the question is whether the sympathy factor will be sufficient to win the seat. And as the party leaders say, the Lok Sabha is an "altogether a different ball game".
This is where the new-age “nationalist” hero Akshay Kumar may be able to score over Rishi Kapoor whose penchant for twitter may go against him.
But whether Akshay Kumar would be willing to take a plunge into the “cess-poll” — as superstar Amitabh Bachchan once famously described politics as — is a big question.
