Veteran actor Sayaji Shinde on Friday joined the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party ahead of assembly elections in Maharashtra.
Joining the party In the presence of Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, working president of the party Praful Patel and state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare, Shinde - an actor of films in a number of Indian languages including Marathi, Bengali and Punjabi - joined the party.
Pawar said that the actor would be the party's star campaigner for the assembly elections that are expected to be held next month.
"Shinde will be given due respect in the party," he added.
Speaking on the occasion, 65-year-old Shinde said he has played a politician in many films.
"I was impressed by Ajit Pawar's style of functioning," said the actor while adding that he interacted with Pawar while working for his favourite cause of afforestation. "To work more effectively, I need to be a part of the system," he added.
He started acting in Marathi theatre, and his big break into Bollywood came in 1999 when he was playing the villain in the film "Shool." Since then, he has acted in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English, Gujarati, and Bhojpuri films aside from Marathi and Hindi.
Shinde's filmography is a combination of Marathi, Hindi, and south Indian films. We feel proud that he is being associated with us. Shinde is also a social activist," state minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said.
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