Urmila Matondkar, Who Joined Congress, to Contest Lok Sabha Election 2019 From Mumbai North Seat

Mumbai, March 29: Famed Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar, who recently joined the Congress, will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Mumbai North parliamentary constituency in Maharashtra. The Chief Election Committee of the Congress has approved candidature of Urmila Matondkar from Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat, the party said on Friday. Urmila Matondkar joined the Congress on March 27.

Mumbai North seat is currently represented by Gopal Shetty of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who defeated Congress’s Sanjay Nirupam in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Gopal Shetty has been renominated by the BJP. Urmila Matondkar will face a tough contest from Shetty. After joining the Congress, said there were questions pertaining to freedom of people under the Narendra Modi government. "I have entered politics to articulate those questions," she said. Maharashtra Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Dates: Constituency-Wise Complete Schedule Of Voting And Results For General Elections.

Matondkar also praised Congress President Rahul Gandhi saying a leader should judge people by their qualities and not their background. The process of filing nomination for Mumbai North Lok Sabha election will begin from April 2. The last day for nominations would be April 9. Scrutiny will be done on April 10 and the last date for the withdrawal of the nominations will be April 12. Mumbai North Lok Sabha Constituency in Maharashtra: Candidates, Current MP, Polling Date And Election Results 2019.

Incidentally, Mumbai North, after Mumbai North-West (now Mumbai North-Central) represented by actor-turned-politician Sunil Dutt five times since 1984, is the second Lok Sabha constituency in the country's commercial capital which has elected a well-known film personality.

Bollywood here Govinda (Ahuja) had earned the title of 'giant-killer' in 2004 when - in a major upset - he trounced former Union Petroleum Minister Ram Naik, who is now the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, in the seat. In 2009, Naik had faced his second consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of the Congress's Sanjay Nirupam.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 29, 2019 10:57 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).