 | Sanjay Dutt
| Mumbai: Munnabhai is off to the Mahatma’s state. If all goes well, actor Sanjay Dutt will campaign in the second phase of the Assembly elections in Gujarat, which will begin on December 16, on behalf of the Congress party.
Sanjay, whose character in the film, Munnabhai MMBS and the sequel, Lage Raho Munnabhai, which imbibed the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi’s non violence movement and caught the imagination of the nation, is popular with the masses.
While Sanjay’s visit to New Delhi was apparently to meet legal advisors, Dutt also met All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi on Monday, for at least 50 minutes at 10 Janpath.
Said Krishna Hegde, official spokesperson for Cong MP Priya Dutt, “Yes, Sanjay did meet Soniaji, but it is still too early to comment whether he will campaign for the party.”
A highly placed source from the Congress party, who is also known to the Dutts, said: “Sanjubaba wants to campaign for Soniaji in the Gujarat elections. The high command (Sonia Gandhi) will take a call within a couple of days.”
“The party has to take an educated decision as the controversy evolving Dutt is still fresh. The opposition (BJP) could use this adversely,” sources said. However, since the actor has not been convicted under TADA and the court has not branded him a terrorist, the party think tank believes his campaigning will not be a problem.
Another Congress party worker from Gujarat said, “The second phase of polling is in central and north Gujarat, which is a stronghold of BJP. Dutt has a huge fan following in these constituencies and is a crowd puller. His appearance will make a big difference.”
A senior Congress leader from Gujarat and union textiles minister Shankar Singh Vaghela, however claimed Sanjay joining the campaign was a rumour. “I don’t think it’s true,” he said.
Sanjay Dutt was unavailable for comment. | 
