Maharashtra: Actor Sanjay Dutt To Join BJP Ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha In September, Says RSP Chief

Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP) president and state cabinet minister Mahadev Jankar said on Sunday (25 August).

The RSP, which mainly represents Dhangar or shepherd community, has been part of the BJP-led NDA since the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The RSP president holding Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development portfolios said that he was looking at Bollywood to expand the reach of the party.

"We have started working in the film sector as well to expand our party. As part of which, actor Sanjay Dutt is also joining the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh on 25 September," Jankar was quoted as saying by NDTV at a party event.

He also played a pre-recorded video of the actor in which the latter has greeted the RSP and addressed Jankar as his "brother".

This will not be the first time that the actor embroiled in serious controversies will set foot in politics. In 2009, Dutt was a Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate for the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency. However, he was forced to withdraw after the court refused to suspend his conviction under the Arms Act. He was also appointed as the general secretary of the SP but resigned and subsequently quit the party.

Both Sunil Dutt, Sanjay’s father, and Priya Dutt, his sister, have been members of the Congress party. Sunil Dutt served as the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in the UPA-I government during 2004-May 2005 before his death, while Priya is a former MP of the Congress from Mumbai.