MUMBAI: First it was Govinda and now it is Sanjay Dutt. Both ever popular actors with the aam junta have been denied to participate in this year’s general elections. While Govinda burnt his fingers by distributing money and lost favor with the top Congress brass, in spite of a thumping victory, last polls, Sanjay Dutt’s past continues to haunt him. And this time the Supreme Court refused to allow Munnabhai to contest.

Tales of various political parties trying to rope in actors to woo the voters have become a headline, daily. First Preity Zinta and Amisha Patel refused. Then stories of the Congress approaching Shah Rukh Khan made news. The latest is that Zeenat Aman, Dino Morea and Mahima Choudhury have been spoken to.

The truth is that very few actors have actually been successful leaders . Living in their gilded castles, with scores of people running to attend to their every whims and fancies, it is difficult for them to reach out to the people and solve their problems at the grass root level. The red tapism of bureaucracy also frustrates them. And some find it difficult to balance the two professions, which are both demanding and need public support.

This year, the Samajwadi Party lost their star candidate, Sanjay Dutt and the Congress, Govinda. Maybe the actresses will fare better, be it Manayata Dutt or Jaya Bachchan, who are possible candidates for the Samajwadi Party to stand from Lucknow. But whoever is elected, they must remember that their promises to voters will have to be fulfilled and that the public is more aware and more demanding, today.