Amitabh Bachchan and Assam

Big B quit politics after Assam poll incident:

Guwahati: Superstar Amitabh Bachchan and Assam. Even in your wildest dream, it is difficult to unearth any connection between the two, barring a political visit that the superstar made more than a decade back to the State. But there is one, rather a big one. The Big B decided to quit politics after an incident that took place in Assam.

Bachchan in his much-hyped blog (http/bigadda.com) revealed the incident that helped him realise that politics was not his cup of tea took place in Assam.

“During my electioneering in Allahabad in 1984, there were political splits inside one family. The women were voting for me, the men for my opponent ! But a factor that weighed heavily during my short stint in politics and perhaps became the decider in my decision to withdraw was an incident that occurred in Assam,” Bachchan stated in his blog.

“For the Assembly elections in that State (Assam), I was sent to campaign for the party. An error of judgment forced my helicopter to land at the wrong destination. It belonged to the opposition,’ Bachchan recalled in his blog.

‘There was instant physical reaction and the pilot advised we make a hurried exit. As I sat back in the plane, a young student broke the cordon, ran up to me, thrust his fist through the glass window and handed me a piece of paper,” the superstar stated.

“Bachchan, I am a big fan of yours, but I am with the opposite party. Please leave this state you are making life very difficult for me for I am torn between two desires,’ he continues in the April 28 blog post.

‘I felt for 25 years I had tried to woo my audience to love me as an artist as an actor. And once I had accomplished that I was now telling them to love my politics as well. Not acceptable to me. It was wrong. I was wrong. I was dividing my audience and my fans,’ Bachchan writes.

‘I was asking them to sever a leg from their body and donate it to my party. I could never do that. It was distressing for me and still is. My reticence from politics is ruled and governed by that incident and it is the reason why I shall never ever go in that domain again. I would be unfaithful to myself and to my greatest asset – my well wishers, my fans,” the blog quoting Bachchan added.

Source: The Assam Tribune