Ravi Kishan's Poll Promise - A Film City In UP's Gorakhpur

A full-fledged film city is one of the poll promises BJP candidate Ravi Kishan has made to people of Gorakhpur, a BJP bastion. The actor-turned-politician has said youths who want to make their careers in acting can do so in the Bhojpuri film industry, whose center, he said, would be built in the city if the BJP wins the ongoing national election.  

Ravi Kishan, who started his career in Hindi films, found success in the Bhojpuri film industry in which he enjoys a superstar status.

"The MoU (memorandum of understanding) to set up a Bhojpuri film city in a 150-acre area with Rs 500 crores has already been signed by the state government," Ravi Kishan was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.

"It will come up in the heart of city so that youths can pursue their dreams of earning name and fame in the film industry," he added.

Gorakhpur was BJP stalwart Yogi Adityanath's parliamentary constituency for close to two decades before he vacated the seat to become the Chief Minister of Uttar pradesh in 2017.

In the bypoll last year, a joint candidate of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party dealt a shocking victory to the BJP. The defeat paved the way for the alliance between the two parties, which has made things difficult for the BJP in the state.

The actor-turned-politician's first tryst with politics was when he had contested the Lok Sabha election in 2014 as a Congress candidate from his hometown Jaunpur, a city in eastern Uttar Pradesh, where the actor has a massive following. A BJP wave in the state ensured his loss. He got a paltry 4.25 per cent of the vote. In 2017, he joined the BJP.

With his candidature, the BJP wants to exploit the massive following he has in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

"I will serve the people of Gorakhpur by keeping the wooden slippers  of Yogiji," he said.

Ravi Kishan is not the only Bhojpuri actor roped in by the party this national election. Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as "Nirahua", is contesting against Akhilesh Yadav in Azamgarh, a Samajwadi Party stronghold.

With inputs from PTI