Big B who had vowed not to contest elections after he burnt his fingers in Bofors fire was in fact offered lok Sabha tickets not once but twice by Samajwadi Party and both the times he refused.
He was offered tickets in 2004 and 2009 lok Sabha elections. Besides he was offered Rajya Sabha seat but he declines. This was disclosed by Jaya Bachchan in a book written by Radhey Krishna on political life of Samajwadi thinker Braj Bhushan Tiwari.
According to Jaya, her husband was hurt over dragging his name in Bofors scandal and even she was allowed to enter politics on the condition of protecting the dignity of family.
"The victory of Amitabh Bachchan from Allahabad lok Sabha seat in 1984 post-Indira Gandhi assassination was because of the charisma Amitabh. Congress had nothing to do with it," Jaya said.
Several Congress leaders had got scared about their political future after Amitabh defeated political heavyweight Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, she said in the book.
The 324-page book on Braj Bhushan Tiwari, who happened to be the political teacher of Jaya Bachchan, is divided into three parts. In one of the chapters, Jaya has paid rich tribute to Tiwari sharing many little known events in the process.
Jaya Bachchan dealt at length describing how the politics disillusioned Amitabh following Bofors scandal and eventually he quit politics. The high point came when his father late Harivansh Rai Bachchan once asked the truth behind the alleged involvementof Amitabh in Bofors controversy leaving the mega star crying in disgust.
She minced no words in admitting her family had a tough time facing the false charges over kickback in Bofors deal and even found it difficult to move out and face others. "Once a close family member made some unsavory comments about Bofors and then Amitabh decided to say good bye to politics," she said.
Probably, Amitabh's brief tryst with politics and his rather unpleasant experience prompted him to decline Mulayam Singh Yadav-led SP's offer to contest lok Sabha elections on party ticket. On several occasions, Amitabh had said he was not meantfor politics and did not desire to enter this arena again.
