Actor Sanjay Dutt will join RSP soon: Party president Mahadev Jankar

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, the younger brother of Congress leader Priya Dutt, will join the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP) next month, said its party president and cabinet minister in the Maharashtra government Mahadev Jankar.

The RSP has been an ally of the BJP-led Maharashtra government and Union government since 2014. Jankar, a cabinet-rank minister in the Devendra Fadnavis government, claimed that “actor Sanjay Dutt was about to join the RSP”.

Jankar, who is heading the animal husbandry and fisheries department, added: “Due to some confusion over a date about whether it was August or September 25, Sanjay Duty could not make out and missed the date. So, his induction in the party has been postponed till September.”

Jankar was addressing party workers at the Shivaji Park ground on the occasion of party’s 16th foundation day.

Jankar has been championing the cause of reservation for the Dhangar (shepherd) community. According to Deccan Herald, in four Lok Sabha seats and 30 plus Assembly seats in Maharashtra and Marathwada regions, the Dhangars have a sizable presence and could be a deciding factor.

With Dutt joining the party, the RSP should be banking on him in the upcoming assembly elections. This would be Dutt’s second innings in politics. In the past, he was close to the Samajwadi Party. In the Lok Sabha elections, he had campaigned for Priya Dutt, who was a Congress candidate from Mumbai.