Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik has said that actor-turned-MP Govinda took help from mafia don Dawood Ibrahim and builder Hiten Thakur to defeat him in Mumbai North in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, a charge that the actor rejected.


The BJP leader has made the charge in his memoir, Chaireveti, Chaireveti (Keep Moving), written in Marathi and released in Mumbai on April 25, reports the Times of India.


A Union minister between 1999 and 2004, Naik says in his book that despite being a three-time MP and having contributed so much to Mumbai, he was unable to digest his defeat by a margin of 11,000 votes.


Going into the 'bitter truths', he wrote that Govinda was friends with Dawood and Thakur and he (Govinda) used them to terrorise voters.


Govinda, however, said people ensured his victory. "I did not need anyone's support at that time. By saying such things, does Ram Naik mean that the people of the constituency were sold into the hands of the underworld? Please do not insult anyone by saying such things," he said.


Govinda said it was not expected of a man of Naik's stature and age to oppose him in such a manner."At this juncture, when I am coming back into films, I humbly request Ram Naik not to damage my name and create hurdles in my work," he said.