NEW DELHI: As campaigning picks up for the April/May elections, political parties are busy competing to get popular stars from India's hugely popular film industry, known as Bollywood, to root for them.

The ruling, pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has managed to rope in some of the brightest of Bollywood stars, but its arch rival the Congress party, which professes secular values, is not doing so badly either.

The "performances" by these movie stars have provided ample entertainment for many in this country one billion-plus people headed soon for general elections.

So far, both main parties have been content to flaunt their "catches" to the press at special media functions, where the film stars have tended to betray their lack of political savvy by mouthing stock phrases that were obviously scripted for the occasion.

"I have joined the BJP because it has provided a stable government under the leadership of (Prime Minister) Atal Behari Vajpayee and India is developing fast under his stewardship," Hema Malini, 55, told media persons who were, shortly afterwards, treated to the same line by a younger actress.

But Malini, the heroine of blockbuster movies like "Sholay", was smart enough to deftly and firmly duck questions on sensitive issues like the January 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in western Gujarat state, which is run by the BJP, with statements like "let's talk about peace and harmony instead".

Secularism is an important issue in the current elections although the ruling BJP, saddled with its gruesome record in Gujarat, has preferred to steer away from appealing to the religious sentiments of the Hindu majority as it has done in the past.

Thus it has shelved, for now, its fiery campaign to build a temple on the site where its supporters tore down the mediaeval Babri Masjid mosque in Ayodhya town in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

The BJP's new approach to politics may have helped it to attract film personalities who come from different religious backgrounds, are idealistic, and tend to shy away from anything that may lead to sectarian conflict.

At the moment, the BJP's campaign managers are said to be busy devising strategies to deploy star power to the best possible political advantage. -Dawn/The Inter Press News Service.