Actor-turned politician Roopa Ganguly has been nominated for a Rajya Sabha seat by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Roopa Ganguly will take a seat vacated by cricketer turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu. Roopa Ganguly, who shot to fame after playing Mahabharat heroine character Draupadi in the hit television series Mahabharat, had joined BJP in 2015. Rupa Ganguly is currently the chief of the BJP’s Mahila Morcha unit. Roopa Ganguly unsuccessfully contested the recently-concluded West Bengal Assembly Election from Howra (North) against her TMC counterpart Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

The BJP by her nomination to the Rajya Sabha hopes to give a boost to the party profile in West Bengal where its vote share has seen a steady growth in the recent past. The BJP had won two Lok Sabha seats from the state in the 2014 general elections.

This year the government had nominated Subramanian Swamy, Narendra Jadhav, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Suresh Gopi, Swapan Dasgupta and Mary Kom as the new Rajya Sabha members.

About Roopa Ganguly:

Rupa Ganguly was born on November 25, 1966, in Kalyani. After completing her primary and secondary, Roopa Ganguly obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Jogamaya Devi College. Roopa Ganguly, who married to Dhrubo Mukerjee in 1992, divorced her husband citing that he started feeling insecure about her recognition as an actress. Roopa Ganguly also stirred a controversy when she slapped a Trinamool Congress party worker during election campaign.

After graduation, Roopa Ganguly decided to try in Bollwyood and made debut in the Anil Kapoor starrer, Saaheb 1985. She bagged her second role in Malayalam film, Ithile Iniyum Varu (1986), with Mammootty as lead. After appearing in numerous Bengali movies, Roopa ganguly shifted base to Mumbai in 2007, with an English film called, Bow Barracks Forever (2004), directed by Anjan Dutt. She debuted on television with Karam Apnaa Apnaa in 2007. She won  National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer award for Abosheshey (Bengali).

Last year, Roopa Ganguly decided to jump into political fray and joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Roopa Ganguly, a star campaigner for BJP in West Bengal Assembly polls, was attacked by Trinamool Congress party goons during an election campaign. In Rajya Sabha, Roopa Ganguly will join actors like Rekha and Suresh Gopi from Kerala.