Media365
4 min readNew DelhiOct 12, 2026 05:06 PM IST
Actor-host Shekhar Suman has been associated with both the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at different points in his career. He officially entered politics by contesting the 2009 Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket against BJP’s veteran leader, actor Shatrughan Sinha. Later in 2024, Suman even joined BJP, but exited the party in less than 24 hours. In a recent interview, the actor opened up about his brief political career.
‘No regrets of joining BJP for 24 hours’
During a candid conversation with The Lallantop, Shekhar Suman was asked about his less than 24 hour tenure of joining BJP, in May 2024. “It was for one day. Not even 24 hours, it should be called 24 minutes. Gashi ke aalam mein aadmi behosh hojaata hai na toh kuch cheezein hojaati hain (I was lost in my own world, so certain things happen when you lose consciousness),” he replied.
The actor-host continued, “Jo bhi pyaar se mila hum usi ke ho liye. This happens. I don’t regret it, and I don’t ever consider it a mistake. It was just a miscalculation, a wrong decision. I am not a politically inclined person. You think someone was walking with you, but they weren’t.”
‘I wasn’t against Shatrughan Sinha, I respect him
During the interview, Suman also recalled fighting on a Congress ticket in the 2009 elections, against BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, who felt ‘hurt’ back then. “It wasn’t against him. We were just in different parties. He was also fighting against Rajesh Khanna, but it isn’t actually against him. He was upset. But, I wasn’t able to understand why he was upset,” he said.
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He further added, “We both were candidates, and the fight was of our different ideologies. I respect him a lot, he has always been so helpful. In the city of Mumbai, he was a big support system. He suddenly felt very hurt that I didn’t tell him, and maybe I should have told him. I shouldn’t have stood up for elections if he felt bad, it wasn’t even a requirement for me.”
Meeting with Sonia Gandhi in 2004
Shekhar Suman admitted that he was pushed into politics by the people around him, and it first started with a meeting with Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in 2004. “My first meeting was arranged with Sonia Gandhi. I told that I have no knowledge about politics and I don’t want to get associated with any party. Priyanka Gandhi was sitting right there and she backed me, by telling her mother to let it be, if I didn’t want to do it,” he shared.
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Five years later, the actor received a call from another political leader. “Then in 2009, I wanted to tell Shatrughan ji that I was pushed for this, including Ahmed Patel. He called me and asked if I would like to fight in the elections, I denied. He told me to fight, and tried to push me politely. I didn’t even know where I will be fighting from and who will be against me. Then, I got to know that Shatrughan ji would be against me.”
As soon as he gave a nod to INC, he received a call from BJP leader, former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, to convince him to change his decision and join his political party instead. “When I said yes, I got a call from Nitish Kumar ji within 5 minutes, saying why I didn’t tell him that I was joining politics. When I told him that I’ve given my word, he laughed and said that forget everything, and come to my party. I knew I wouldn’t win the elections,” Suman concluded.
Shekhar Suman is currently not a part of any political party.
