Amar Singh's Celebritywadi Party

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

If there was one place Amar Singh could be associated with it had to be Uttar Pradesh. A popular face in Mumbai he was more in the company of Bollywood celebrities and industrialists than mingling with politicians and party workers. Yet the celebrity politician was the General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party which claims to be believe in socialistic ideals. The irony lies in the fact that there was nothing Samajwadi about this man.

Amar Singh wasn't a mass leader who could convert speeches into votes. Mulayam Singh never even expected that from him. What made Aamr so important for Mulayam was the broker in him. Mulayam could win elections but not strike deals with the other political factions. Nor did Mulayam or any of the Samajwadi Party leaders have a stronghold in New Delhi. This is where Aamr Singh had become oxygen to Mulayam.

Any political party would envy the kind of celebrity fan following that Samajwadi Party had. From the Bachchan family to Jayapradha and from Mohmmad Azharuudin to Sanjay Dutt to Nafisa Ali, Aamr Singh brought in all the well known names among the Samajwadi Party ranks. It is no wonder Amar Singh spent most of his time attending parties in Mumbai and not bite dust in the rural heartlands of UP like other party leaders.

The most important of Amar Singh's responsibility was to bring in funds to the party and which he did efficiently due to his close contacts with the leading industrialists in the country. In the recent past Mulayam's son and brother have snubbed Amar Singh. It is believed that he wanted to call the shots since he was making sure the party ran by arranging funds in the first place. The Yadav family was in no mood to play second fiddle and thus had to show Mulayam the door.

For now Amar Singh seems to be playing his cards very carefully and sending fleer to many political parties. His close friend Amitabh Bachchan touring all the BJP ruled states might even be a sign that the saffron party is no longer untouchable for him. Or else he can form his own political party but he will definitely taste more success in Mumbai than in Uttar Pradesh. Who knows Celebritywadi Party may be on the cards!