Now a political ‘Silsila’ in RS as Rekha-stricken Jaya seeks change of seat?

NEW DELHI: Three decades after Yash Chopra’s flick “Silsila” sizzled the Bollywood, a political ‘Silsila’ is set to reel off in the hallowed precincts of the Rajya Sabha soon with the same two female protagonists – Jaya (Bhaduri) Bachchan and Rekha.

Jaya, a Rajya Sabha member of the Samajwadi Party, has desired change of her seat in the House. The reason: just behind her seat is the 12-seat row for nominated members and the newly nominated RS member Rekha would be sitting just behind Jaya.  Sources said on Sunday that Jaya does not want to share the same RS camera screen with Rekha . It is common knowledge that there is no love lost between Bollywood’s two leading ladies of yesteryears, Rekha and Jaya.

Sources said it is nothing unusual for a MP to seek change of his or her seat in the House, but that normally happens for political reasons when the MP no longer wants to be associated with the political party with whose support he or she has become a member of parliament. In this case, Jaya continues to enjoy good relations with the SP leadership and clearly her reasons for seeking change of her seat in the house are personal.

Sources also said it was the idea of a Congress leader from Maharashtra to nominate Rekha in the Rajya Sabha to counter Jaya Bachchan and the party high command pounced upon the idea and immediately implemented it. It is understood that Rekha, whose illustrious father Gemini Ganeshan too had been a Rajya Sabha member, would be taking her latest political role with utmost seriousness. Apart from the fact that Rekha is not getting many roles in Bollywood these days, the cine diva wants to prove herself in her new role. It is expected that Rekha would be attending parliament more frequently than most film stars who have become MPs over the years.                                  (FOC)