Everyone Will Be Blown Away by the Modi Wave: Jaya Prada

Actress-turned-politician Jaya Prada is convinced that 2019 will see another Modi wave.

The Quint speaks to BJP’s candidate from Rampur, Jaya Prada.

Actress-turned-politician Jaya Prada has re-entered politics and is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, on a BJP ticket. The Quint reached Rampur to speak to Prada about her journey in politics and her opponent in the polls, SP-BSP-RLD Mahagathbandhan candidate Azam Khan.

Prada disagrees that the elections look tough this time for the BJP.

“You may feel so, but I don’t see it. This is what all elections are like. It’s not like you get to eat and sleep on time. If we’re fighting a battle, we need to be alert all the time to look out for an attack from the enemy,” she said.

Prada pointed out that she had been introduced in Rampur by Khan, who she is fighting against this time. "Perhaps this is politics. If this hasn't happened, it wouldn’t have been called politics," she told The Quint, adding that she would face it nonetheless.

She said that she was aware that the SP-BSP-RLD had aligned only to stop Modi from returning to power, but added that she had faced a lot of attacks from Khan before – now, she was fighting against the abuse that she had been subjected to.

She told The Quint that she had won the polls against Khan’s wishes, which is why he had behaved the way he had. "This is all in the public domain," she said.

She said that she had even faced threats of an acid attack before leaving Rampur.

“BJP is a party that respects and protects women. Modi always speaks about the upliftment of women. I see a lot of difference,” she said, comparing her old party SP to her new one.

Speaking about SP party chief Akhilesh Yadav, she said, "There is a Modi wave in the country. Everyone will be blown away in this wave."