NL Interview: Manoj Tiwari on Delhi election, BJP’s plan, and his journey from cinestar to politician

Manoj Tiwari is a man of many talents. He’s a star of Bhojpuri cinema, a singer, and a politician. He’s a Member of Parliament from Delhi, where he is now leading the Bharatiya Janata Party into the upcoming Assembly election. As if that is not work enough, he moonlights as a reality TV show contestant and host as well.

Ahead of the Delhi election, scheduled for February 8, Tiwari sat down with Abhinandan Sekhri of Newslaundry to talk about his person and his politics. They spoke about Tiwari’s evolution from cinestar to political leader, his time with the Samajwadi Party, his party’s election plan, Arvind Kejriwal, Sadhvi Pragya, and much more.

Asked why union minister Hardeep Puri had retracted his statement declaring Tiwari the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, he said, “Because he’s not the authority.” Only the BJP’s parliamentary board had the authority to announce the chief ministerial candidate, he added, and “Modiji is a part of that authority”.

Why did he send a notice to the Aam Aadmi Party for tweeting a video that showed him dancing to the tune of the party’s campaign song? Tiwari said it was a case of copyright violation. “Maanhani nahi, yeh to IPR ka Act hai,” he added, referring to the Intellectual Property Rights Act. “Copyright me aaya hai…maanhani kahaan, maan to badhya hai unhone.”

Watch.

Listen to this interview: