Patna, April 17 (Inditop) Television star Shekhar Suman Friday filed his nomination papers from the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar as Congress candidate.
A smiling Shekhar Suman went from his parents’ residence at Lohanipur locality to the collector office here on a cycle-rickshaw much to the surprise of hundreds of people on narrow streets.
He was accompanied by hundreds of Congress workers, mostly youths.
Patna Sahib is gearing up for a high-profile contest with Shekhar Suman taking on Bollywood veteran and former central minister Shatrughan Sinha of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Both belong to the upper caste of Kayasths that has over 500,000 votes in the constituency.
Shekhar Suman later told newspersons that he might be new to politics but not to Patna and its people.
“After all, it is my birth place. I was brought up here and my parents are still living here. I am proud to be a Bihari and Patnaite,” he said.
He said he plans to build a heart hospital and an entertainment training centre in this Bihar capital.
Replying to a query, Shekhar Suman refuted the charge that he was silent last year when Rahul Raj, a youth from Patna, was shot dead by police in Mumbai. “I raised my voice and opposed the incident but it failed to get any place in media because I was not a powerful political man then,” he said.
“I had opposed Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray for his remarks against Biharis and criticised him for justifying Rahul Raj’s killing,” he added.
rounak