Naik taps Bollywood to counter Govinda

Petroleum Minister Ram Naik may have served North Mumbai constituency for more than three decades but he doesn’t have rival Govinda&#14...

Petroleum Minister Ram Naik may have served North Mumbai constituency for more than three decades but he doesn’t have rival Govinda’s Bollywood connection. So he has Bachchan to do the campaigning for him, with a suitably tailored video CD carrying clips of his film.

The VCD carries clips from Amitabh Bachchan’s Shahenshah where he plays a corrupt police officer, turning away people seeking help, asking them to approach Ram Naik if they wanted their work done. Of course, the 90s’ movie makes no mention of petrol pumps or LPG agencies and allotments on political considerations.

A five-time MP, Naik has pooh-poohed Govinda’s entry, saying a ‘‘dancer’’ could do little for the constituency. Govinda shot back, saying he would do what Shatrughan Sinha and Vinod Khanna had done in the Vajpayee Cabinet.

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Naik’s worries apparently set in after he saw footage of Govinda riding the local train to Virar, where the actor spent his childhood. Govinda led a crowd of supporters, to which Naik said the actor had violated the model code of conduct by using public transport for campaigning.

Only to be reminded, by Govinda, that Naik himself had been using local trains all through 20 years on publicity drives while he had only travelled to his hometown and a crowd had ‘‘joined’’ him.

Naik, however, said he is confident he will be returned to Parliament with a whopping majority. Unless Virar, with its fantasies for Govinda’s rag-to-riches story turns around the script.