Actor Arun Govil who is popularly known for playing the role of Lord Ram in the 'Ramayan' TV series is contesting the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from the Meerut constituency in Uttar Pradesh. It is interesting to trace the political journey and links of other actors from the most famous rendition of 'Ramayan' on Indian television.
Govil's role as Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's cult hit TV show 'Ramayan' became immensely popular when it was telecast in 1987. Besides Govil, late veteran actor Arvind Trivedi who played the role of 'Raavan' in the TV series, Deepika Chikhlia who played Sita, and Dara Singh who played Hanuman have all been members of the Bharatiya Janata Party for a period of their lives.
Arvind Trivedi's political career
Arvind Trivedi best known for playing Ravan in the popular mythological show died on October 6, 2021, following a heart attack. Trivedi, who played Ravan in Ramanand Sagar's 'Ramayan', acted in over 250 films in Hindi and Gujarati language.
As he gained popularity through his role, Trivedi was rewarded with a BJP ticket during the peak of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement from the Lok Sabha constituency of Sabarkantha in Gujarat in 1991. He received 1,68,704 votes with a vote share of 48.28 per cent. He defeated Janata Dal (Gujarat) candidate Maganbhai Manibhai Patel with a margin of 36,418 votes. Patel managed to get 1,32,286 votes with a vote share of 37.86 per cent. Janata Dal candidate and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Rajmohan Gandhi stood third with just 33,746 votes (9.66 per cent of votes). Trivedi remained a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1991 to 1996. Deepika Chikhlia, Ramayan's Sita, also won the election from Gujarat in 1991 on a BJP ticket. She represented the Baroda Lok Sabha seat by defeating Congress candidate Ranjit Singh Pratapsingh Gaekwad with a margin of 34,188 votes.
Trivedi again contested the Lok Sabha Elections in 1996 from Sabarkantha but lost to Congress candidate Nisha Amarsinh Chaudhary by 40,611 votes. Trivedi received 1,83,143 votes with a vote share of 42.66 per cent. However, Chaudhary got 2,23,754 votes with a vote share of 52.12 per cent.
Arvind Trivedi's professional career
Apart from playing the iconic character of Ravan in 'Ramayan', Arvind also played a pivotal role in the hit TV show 'Vikram Aur Betaal'. The late star had a prolific career spanning more than three decades in the Gujarati cinema. 'Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya' remains one of the most popular Gujarati films of all time.
For a brief period, between 2002 and 2003, the late actor was appointed as the acting chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
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ALSO READ: From Arun Govil to Sunil Lahri: Then and now pics of lead actors of Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan
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