Arun Govil, Who Played Lord Ram in ‘Ramayan’ TV Series, Joins BJP

Notably, in the 1980s, Govil had reportedly supported the Congress party.

Arun Govil as Ram in ‘Ramayana’.

(Photo Altered by The Quint)

Actor Arun Govil, popular for playing the role of Lord Ram in ‘Ramayan’ TV series, on Thursday, 18 March, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Govil joined the party in the presence of senior leader Arun Singh, ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

As per NDTV, the BJP has informed that Govil will not be contesting elections, but will campaign for the party.

According to ANI, Govil said that he was earlier not inclined to join politics, but the “work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi” helped him change his mind.

Further, Govil, as per ANI, said that the objection raised to the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was his immediate trigger for getting into politics, and went on to state that ‘Jai Shri Ram’ was more ‘sanskar’ than slogan.

BACKGROUND

Govil had played the role of Lord Ram in 1987’s Ramayan tv show. He has also played lead and supporting roles in multiple Hindi, Bhojpuri, Odia and Telugu films.

BJP, as per NDTV, is aiming to appease right-wing voters in the upcoming Assembly elections, by bringing Govil on board.

Notably, however, in the 1980s, Govil had reportedly supported the Congress party.

Earlier, the party had handed out tickets to the actors who played the roles of Ravana (Arvind Trivedi) and Sita (Deepika Chikhalia) in the famous TV adaptation. Both went on to become MPs in subsequent elections

(With inputs from ANI and NDTV)