Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh is making headlines for his passionate and fiery speech during the ongoing campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The son of two-time Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Riteish has been actively campaigning for his brothers in the region.

While his brother Amit Deshmukh is locked in a tight battle with Archana Patil Chakurkar of the BJP, the daughter-in-law of former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil, in Latur City, his younger brother Dhiraj is facing a multi-cornered contest. Dhiraj's opponents include BJP's Ramesh Karad, along with candidates from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), making it a highly competitive race.

Maharashtra Assembly polls : Campaigning stepped up

Riteish stirred the political atmosphere with his remarks slamming the BJP alliance, subtly linking the topic of religion with the electoral battle. Speaking fluently in Marathi, Riteish said, “Those who claim their religion is in danger, it is their party that is in danger, and they are praying to their dharma to save their party and themselves. Tell them, we will take care of our religion; you first speak about development.”

His words resonated strongly with the audience, much like his flawless performances in Bollywood films. His charismatic presence was evident during his rally in Latur Rural, where he spoke in support of Dhiraj.

Latur has long been a stronghold for the Deshmukh family. Vilasrao Deshmukh served as the MLA for Latur, while his brother Amit has represented Latur City as a three-time MLA. Dhiraj won from Latur Rural in the 2019 Assembly elections, defeating Shiv Sena's Sachin alias Ravi Ramraje Deshmukh. Dhiraj secured 78.5% of the vote, with 135,006 votes, while his closest rival managed only 13,524 votes.

This time, however, Dhiraj faces a tougher challenge in a multi-cornered contest. BJP candidate Karad is no newcomer—he is a sitting MLC and has previously contested the assembly elections from Latur in 2009 and 2014, albeit unsuccessfully. Once a staunch supporter of the late BJP leader Gopinath Munde, Karad was nominated as an MLC in 2020.

Meanwhile, Amit is facing BJP's Archana Patil, who is the daughter-in-law of veteran Congress leader and former Home Minister & Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil. Both candidates are embroiled in a battle of caste dynamics.

Riteish's political inclinations are not new. After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which brought encouraging results for the Congress party, he shared a video of his late father, Vilasrao Deshmukh, on Twitter, in which his father can be heard saying, “No one can end the Congress like that.”

In 2019, after both his brothers won the assembly elections, Riteish tweeted, “We did it, Papa.” This statement further hints that Riteish, whose Bollywood career has flourished with films like Hey Baby, Dhamaal, and Housefull, may eventually transition into a political career once his film journey comes to an end.