Arun Govil snapped right before he left from Meerut for Mumbai
The kurta-pyjama on the campaign journey is replaced by shirt and trousers. The BJP scarf is gone and in comes a cap. The sandals have given way to shoes. That's Arun Govil, BJP's Meerut candidate, heading to Mumbai after a month-long stint in his Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha constituency.
The actor-politician, who essayed the role of Ram in the hugely popular television drama Ramayan, on Sunday found himself occupying the top spot on the trending list.
This is a prime example of "parachute politician", alleges Congress' UP chief Ajay Rai.
"It is learnt that Arun Govil, who was the BJP candidate from Meerut, left for Mumbai the very next day after the elections were over. Perhaps he had difficulty staying among the public," Mr Rai alleges in a post in Hindi on X.
The 66-year-old politician immediately issued a clarification, adding that he was heading to Mumbai on party's orders.
"My respected voters, sisters, brothers and workers of Meerut, Hello. On Holi, on 24 March, the Bharatiya Janata Party announced my name and on their instructions, I reached among you on 26 March. I stayed with you for one month and campaigned for the election with your support. The election was completed. I am very grateful to you for your love, support and respect. Now, on the instructions of the party, I am in Mumbai to fulfill my responsibilities here," Mr Govil said in a detailed post in Hindi on X.
The politician said the party is planning to send him to other areas for election campaigning, underscoring that he will be among the people of Meerut once the work is completed.
The other charge against Mr Govil is that he is not aware about the issues of Meerut.
"During the election campaign, when a journalist asked him about the issues of Meerut, he did not know anything. In reply, he could only say that first let the elections be over and then we will look into the issues," Mr Rai alleged, adding, "This is the policy of most of the BJP leaders. They have no concern for the people and the ground. They only believe in parachute politics."
Mr Govil, when asked about the issues in Meerut, told a New Minute reporter that he is "not exactly aware what kind of issues are prevalent here".
"Basically the major issue always, and anywhere, not talking about this Meerut seat, are roads, electricity, water, education, employment, medical. I am not aware exactly what kind of issues are prevalent here. But whatever will be there, as they come to us we will try to resolve," Mr Govil told News Minute.
When the reporter pressed him about what he meant by not aware and if he had not had a chance to study the issues, a visibly irked Mr Govil said, "It's not the question of studying them. You are taking me somewhere else." The politician followed it up with a namaste.
Asked again if the BJP was trying to cash in on his celebrity status, Mr Govil said, "I don't think so, no no. A lot of work has been done in this constituency."
Arun Govil is up against Samajwadi Party's Dalit candidate Sunita Verma. The BJP swept the country's largest and most crucial state in 2014 (72 seats) and 2019 (62 seats). At 80, the politically prized state sends the maximum number of MPs to parliament.
Ms Verma is the former Mayor of Meerut. Her husband Yogesh Verma, a former MLA of the Samajwadi Party, is a well-known face in the constituency.
The third candidate in the contest is BSP's Devvrat Tyagi.
The eight UP constituencies that went to polls in the second phase are Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Mathura.
According to the Voter Turnout app of the Election Commission 58.70 per cent polling was recorded in Meerut.