BJP watch out, Govinda ala re

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />MUMBAI: The contest in the Mumbai-North Lok Sabha constituency promises to be the one to watch.<br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="23.6%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/553436.cms" alt="/photo/553436.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">‘Chhote Miyan'' Govinda, movie star, has agreed to contest on a Congress ticket there, against sitting MP and petroleum minister Ram Naik of the BJP.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">The Congress was unable to find anybody to take on the well-entrenched Naik, who was elected from this constituency as many as five times. City Congress chief Gurudas Kamat then got a brainwave about fielding “Chichi� against Naik the invincible.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Govinda, who is a chokra from Virar, which is part of the Mumbai north constituency, asked Kamat for time to consider his offer. ‘Raja Babu’ apparently wanted to consult his astrologer before taking his new avatar as a neta. The planets appear to have finally shown the thumbs up sign to the </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">dhinchak </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">actor.</span><br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -6"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="31.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" color:="" ffffff="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">RELATED STORIES</span></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/553437.cms" alt="/photo/553437.cms" border="0" /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="/articleshow/549135.cms" target="_blank">Om Puri joins Congress bandwagon</a> <br /><#img src="/photo/553437.cms" alt="/photo/553437.cms" border="0" /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="/articleshow/548682.cms" target="_blank">Srikkanth to campaign for BJP</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><#img src="/photo/553437.cms" alt="/photo/553437.cms" border="0" /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="/articleshow/548720.cms" target="_blank">Jayaprada divorces TDP for SP</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><#img src="/photo/553437.cms" alt="/photo/553437.cms" border="0" /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="/articleshow/540143.cms" target="_blank">Cong unleashes Asrani, Zeenat, Celina...</a></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Govinda had a two-hour long meeting with Kamat at a farmhouse in Panvel on Tuesday night, working out the nitty-gritty of the strategy to disinvest Naik of his seat in Parliament. When contacted, Kamat told TNN, “We hope to give good news to the voters of Mumbai north.� He declined to elaborate.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""><formid=367815></formid=367815></span><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />BJP leaders, in private, are worried that Govinda may be able to pull the rug from under Naik’s feet, given the fact that the actor will receive the backing of the strongman of Virar Hitendra Thakur and young voters.<br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -6"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="31.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" color:="" ffffff="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">RELATED STORIES</span></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><a href="/articleshow/549135.cms" target="_blank">Om Puri joins Congress bandwagon</a> <br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="/articleshow/548682.cms" target="_blank">Srikkanth to campaign for BJP</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="/articleshow/548720.cms" target="_blank">Jayaprada divorces TDP for SP</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="/articleshow/540143.cms" target="_blank">Cong unleashes Asrani, Zeenat, Celina...</a></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">At the same time, they point out that Govinda could not get his own secretary Shashi Prabhu elected to the BMC in the past civic polls, despite personally campaigning for him. Prabhu had contested on a Congress ticket and is now an office-bearer of the party’s Mumbai unit.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Congress sources claim that Naik’s popularity graph has dipped considerably because of the frequent increase in petrol and diesel prices which has hit the “</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">aam admi</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">� badly.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Several Bollywood personalities are expected to help Govinda in his campaign, which might well become the most keenly watched contest in Mumbai.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""><formid=367815></formid=367815></span></div> </div>