Sanjay Dutt treats politics as top priority

[Rasputin]

Sanjay Dutt has assumed the role of a politician right now and treats politics as his top priority, changing his dress, style of meeting the people, his new dialogue and approach;, it seems he has fully inherited all the qualities of his great father Sunil Dutt and it is also expected by millions of his fans that Sanjay’s election should prove to be a hit, a political box office.

Sanjay has told reporters that he has made his schedule clear cut to change his life technique from actor to politician and time would prove that he has not committed any mistake by joining politics at this stage, which he thinks is the right one.

His campaign in Lucknow is tough, in fact a big challenge, which shall take around 45 days for him to cover his territory for campaigning; how he competes this schedule and defeats his opponents is a matter of great interest for millions of his fans and of course his political party on whose behalf he is contesting.

Sanjay Dutt feels that politics is as smooth for him as acting in Bollywood; he wants to prove that he has a dual personality as an actor as well as a politician.

After saying good bye to the liquor bottle forever and a new found enthusiasm to be in good health, Sanjay Dutt is preparing for a new battle. The actor is gearing up for the coming elections where he is in the fray as a candidate from Lucknow representing the Samjadwadi Party.

Come March 15 the actor-politician will be busy stationed and rallying in Lucknow for the various election campaigns and related activities that have been organized till the end of April. Due to this Sanju is frantic to complete his work schedule in Mumbai ASAP. Assuming that he will not be able to finish off the shooting for the film ‘All The Best’ in time, Sanjay even recommended Anil Kapoor to take his place.

The reason for this was because the dates allotted by the star for the film was clashing with the days during which he will be busy campaigning in Lucknow. But Ajay Devgan, the producer ‘All The Best’ did not want a no from Sanjay as far as this film was concerned. Without another option, Sanjay agreed and has reportedly allotted fresh dates starting from May.

So will this new role of a full-fledged politician fit our Munnabhai? Sanjay is quite optimistic that he will get a favourable verdict.

In the run-up to the upcoming elections, actor Sanjay Dutt plans to focus more on politics than movies.

The Bollywood star has been so engrossed in shaping his fledgling political career of late that’s he been unresponsive to the competition in the film industry.

Recently, when Aussie pop star Kylie Minogue came to Mumbai to shoot a song for Blue , Akshay Kumar hogged all the limelight, while Dutt – who reportedly has a bigger role in ‘Blue’ than Akki – virtually remained incommunicado. Even after being prodded by his friends and well-wishers, Dutt remained elusive despite all the talk of a lavish party he planned to host for Kylie.

Reports say that with the upcoming elections nearing with every passing day, Dutt plans to wrap up his movie commitments soon to be able to focus single-mindedly on chalking out a political career in Lucknow.

It’s learnt that from mid-March to the end of April (almost one-and-half months) Dutt will be stationed in Lucknow with his wife Manyata. He plans to campaign vigorously for his party.

Dutt will resume working in Bollywood only after the general elections are over.

[Rasputin]

The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted for his role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, cannot contest forthcoming elections.

The court declined Dutt's request to suspend his conviction saying he had been involved in a "serious offence".

The actor was sentenced to six years in jail in July 2007 for buying weapons from bombers who attacked Mumbai.

He was bailed in November 2007 and wanted to stand as a Samajwadi Party candidate while his appeal was heard.

The Samajwadi Party hoped he would run in Lucknow, capital of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Responding to the ruling, Dutt, one of Bollywood's most bankable stars, said he abide by the court's decision.

'Serious offence'

The Supreme Court ruled the actor could not stand in elections for the duration of his sentence.

"It is not a fit case for suspension of conviction because of his [Sanjay Dutt's] involvement in a serious offence," its ruling said.

Under Indian laws, anyone who is convicted by a court and given a jail sentence for a period of two years or more is not allowed to contest elections.

"I am a law abiding citizen and I respect the court's decision," Dutt told journalists after the court order.

"But I'm not leaving Lucknow. This is my seat and it will remain so forever. Whoever replaces me as the candidate here, will be my candidate," he said.


Hundreds of people were killed in the blasts

Dutt is appealing against his conviction in the Supreme Court.

The actor, who found fame playing gangsters and anti-heroes, is the most high-profile of 100 people convicted in connection with the blasts, which killed 257 people in Mumbai (Bombay).

He was originally charged with five offences, including criminal conspiracy and possession of illegal weapons.

The court found him guilty of illegally possessing firearms but cleared him of conspiracy.

During the course of the trial, Sanjay Dutt - the son of a Hindu father and Muslim mother - said the weapons were necessary in order to defend his family during the Hindu-Muslim rioting of 1993.

The violence followed the destruction by Hindu zealots of the Babri mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya.

The Mumbai blasts were allegedly carried out by the city's Muslim-dominated underworld in retaliation for the riots, in which most of those killed were Muslims.