Now I’m more mature, says Rakhi
Her political career may not have taken off on a high note, but Rakhi Sawant is not one to be bogged down. Looking back at her election campaign, she regrets a few decisions, but is determined to make another attempt after having learnt from her “mistakes”. A day after the results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared, a glum Rakhi Sawant and debut candidate of the Rashtriya Aam party, on the other end of the phone line said, “I was feeling very low yesterday, which is why I didn’t speak much to anybody. My party got only 15 votes. Besides, I spent about 50- 70 lakhs of my own money
` for the campaigning and other election- related expenses. I also rejected all Bollywood and television offers that came my way because I wanted to concentrate solely on my political aspirations. It’s been a huge loss, but a there were also a lot of lessons learnt.”
The incident she insists, hasn’t dampened her spirits: “Contesting from a new party was probably the biggest mistake of all. It was formed only a fortnight before the actual election day, so people didn’t take us very seriously. Now, if I were to contest as a Bhartiya Janta Party candidate, I would have probably won today. If actors such as Kirron Kherji and Hema Maliniji can emerge as winners, then why not me? After all, even they are from Bollywood and have had a glamorous image in the past much like me. I really plan to get into BJP soon and hopefully they will give me a ticket next time.”
In what is probably an effort to shake off the glam doll image, a more evolved Rakhi Sawant says, “I am 34- year- old now. I’m more mature. How can I continue with my glamorous image at this point in my life? I am already looking for bahu roles on television and will take up film offers only if the roles are ‘ mature’. No more sexy and seductive roles for me. I want to do dignified work now. People will now see a side of me that they have never seen before.” Though the Rashtriya Aam Party was formed only 15 days before the elections, Rakhi did her bit to campaign in her ward and make her presence felt in the locality. Clad in a green churidar kurta ( in keeping with her party symbol of a green chilly) the actress made endless rounds in her area. But she’s happy that the country made a good choice by voting for Modi’s government.
“In fact, I always wanted Modiji to win and I know that he will take India on the right path. The Modi wave was so strong ki Congress, AAP sab ko kha gaya , ( the wave just swallowed up everybody). I definitely want to be a part of BJP and do some serious political work. I have no plans of giving up on my political aspirations at the moment. Also, I want to be part of television and good movies at the same time. Rakhi Sawant is not one to give up so easily,” she concludes.