Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 28 (HBTV): Welcoming veteran Bollywood actor Govinda into the Shiv Sena fold, party leader Milind Deora on Thursday praised the actor. He has known the actor for 25 years and that he is a man with a clean heart who will work towards representing the "cultural capital of the country--Mumbai", the party leader said.  

"I have known Govinda for almost 25 years. In 2004, we both fought elections together. My late father had brought him to Congress. He is a man with a clean heart, and he wants to represent the creative industry and the cultural capital of the country, Mumbai," Deora told ANI. 

Govinda on Thursday said that the clean aura of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena inspired him to join the party, adding that country has made significant progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  

Meanwhile, questioning the move by Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey said that there is no point for Govinda in joining any party as he has no connection left with the public.

"Any person can join any party, but Govinda, who was the MP from North Mumbai from 2004 to 2009. In these five years, he had no connection with the public. No work on public issues, nothing to do with people's problems. There is no point in Govinda joining any party," he said.         

Govinda was born on December 21, 1963. He has acted in over 120 films since his debut in 1986. 

In 2004, Govinda successfully contested the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket, defeating veteran BJP leader Ram Naik. However, he later resigned from the Congress party.  

Calling Govinda's entry into the Shiv Sena an "unfortunate" moment, NCP-SCP leader Anil Deshmukh said that Shinde's Shiv Sena has no candidates left to field for the upcoming elections.  

"Everybody knows that Govinda was an MP of Congress. CM Eknath Shinde has just established the party and he hasn't had candidates for the elections. hence, he is bringing people from the film industry and giving them tickets. It's very unfortunate for Eknath Shinde's party," Anil Deshmukh said.   

(ANI) This is a syndicated feed. HBTV has edited it for clarity.