‘Madam has promised Rae Bareli-like development for Jaunpur’

LUCKNOW: With nearly 250 Hindi and regional films in his kitty, Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan is now looking to charm the voters. Banking on his fan-following in his home turf, the Congress’ Jaunpur candidate is confident that his back-to-the-roots gambit, along with promises of development will swing the tide in his favour. “I am a king in my field. My opponents maybe king in their field, but I am here to stay and win,” he tells HT in a freewheeling chat. Excerpts:

You are doing so well in films, why did you jump on to the political bandwagon?

I have grown up in this mitti (soil) amidst poverty. I have seen the pain of the people. Politicians have crushed them and kept them ignorant, (raising) issues like caste-based politics to rule over them. There is no infrastructure, roads are covered with potholes, sanitation in rural areas is pathetic and there are no technical institutions. I am well settled in Mumbai but now I want to do something for my own place.

Why do you feel people will vote for you?

My hopes rest on the youth here that form 65% of the population. People wait for six to seven hours in the heat for me during the jan sabhas. They come to hear my vision for them. For 22 years, I have faced hardships and my good time has come. Still, I am sweating it out for them and they understand that. In the population of 20 lakh, we have 4 lakh Brahmins and 2 lakh Muslims, so I am looking to give a tough fight to the stalwarts and sail through.

With the country reeling under inflation, the tide seems against the Congress. Yet, you chose this party.

Anti-incumbency is a global phenomenon but people know well how much development has taken place. They need stability. Everyone in my family has been a staunch Congress supporter. As a child, I admired Rajiv Gandhi and today, young Rahul is giving hope to the youth.

The Congress has been in power for 10 years but nothing changed in this place. Why should people believe them now?

In the last 25 years, there has been no Congress representative (MP) at the local level. The Centre sent things that did not reach here. The party is serious about UP, so I have been given the responsibility to win the seat for them. In UPA-3, Madam (Sonia Gandhi) has promised to provide it development like Amethi and Rae Bareli.

What’s your vision for the city?

If I want to bring people to shoot here, we need roads, hotels, infrastructure, development of tourist sites and a focus on villages. I want to act as the bridge between local representation and the Centre-state governments.