Bollywood actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha submitted his nomination papers today amidst fanfare for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). The party portrayed its secular image, which was evident from its selection of Sinha’s four proposers Bidhan Upadhyay, mayor of Asansol Municipal Corporation (AMC); Jamuria MLA Hareram Singh; deputy mayor of AMC Wasimul Haq and AMC councillor Sikha Ghatak.

The four names have been selected to woo the Bengali, non-Bengali, minority and woman voters respectively. Amar Nath Chatterjee, chairman of AMC has been appointed as his election agent. After arriving at Andal airport last evening, Shatrughan Sinha spent the night at The Grand Hotel in Ushagram, in Asansol. After taking breakfast he arrived at Rabindra Bhawan, along with his wife Punam Sinha and daughter-in-law.

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In a show of strength and unity, all top TMC leaders, Moloy Ghatak, Tapas Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee, Bidhan Upadhyay, V Sivadasan, Amar Nath Chatterjee, Vivek Gupta, Bidhan Upadhyay, were present to greet him. He went to file his nomination papers riding a jeep accompanied by Moloy Ghatak, Tapas Banerjee and Bidhan Upadhyay. Thousands of party supporters gathered at the site.

“I have come here to script history and want to know whether Narendra Modi considers himself an insider or an outsider in Varanasi,” asked Mr Sinha after filing his papers and refuting the BJP claim that he is an outsider in Asansol. He claims that due to his wide acceptability amongst his followers in India, political parties like the BJP, Congress and now the TMC have given him tickets to contest polls.

“Mamata ji is a tigress and this is not the first time I am with her. I have attended her huge political meeting in Kolkata earlier,” Sinha added. His wife Punam Sinha also claimed that Shatrughan Sinha is a truly national-level actor and has a fan base throughout the country. “We have huge faith in Didi and am sure of my husband’s win with her full blessings,” said Punam Sinha. The second candidate to file nomination today was little-known independent candidate Sunny Kumar Shah.

The BJP and the CPM candidates are yet to file nominations while Congress is unlikely to contest the polls after its drubbing in the five states. In the afternoon, TMC Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal arrived in Asansol and held a meeting with the TMC leaders and workers. All 91 selected councillors and other panchayat members were present at the meet. The campaigning and roadshows of Mr Sinha for the next few days were finalised today.