Actor Anupam Kher has raised many eyebrows in the BJP, apparently over his relentless campaign for a Rajya Sabha berth. Some party insiders say they are befuddled, especially because the Bollywood veteran had spurned a few offers from the government citing lack of time.Kher had declined to accept an offer to head the Film and Television Institute of India on the grounds that he was too busy, and had said that he did not want to be on the board of National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).“How come he has suddenly become so willing to be a Rajya Sabha MP,” asked a party functionary.Party sources said Kher, who was honoured with Padma Bhushan only this year, was not considered for Rajya Sabha nomination. But long after the race for nomination closed, with the selection of six eminent personalities, the actor took to social media hoping he could grab the seventh vacant seat.“The seventh seat we hear has already been clinched,” said a Union minister. Sources indicated it could be media baron Rajat Sharma, who has reportedly conveyed his displeasure to BJP top brass for being left out from the first list.BJP leaders said Kher, who is trying to project himself as a representative of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, has been pushing his own case. “In our party we do not have the system of sending couples [his wife Kirran Kher is a Lok Sabha MP] to Parliament,” said BJP functionary, who has been closely trying to get Kher to work on government assignments. “If he is so busy for FTII and NFDC, how is he suddenly so free for RS?”Some party leaders wondered if Kher was out of work in the Bollywood.While it is true that the actor enjoys good support from the RSS and its cultural wing Sanskar Bharati, some actions of Kher may have gone against him, said sources. In fact, those close to Sangh were disappointed that Kher got left out in the nomination.But not everyone is happy with Kher’s aggressive posturing of using the Kashmiri Pandit card. “No one is denying he is a Pandit, but we cannot allow issues to simmer for long. He makes some statement and disturbs the atmosphere. There has to be some closure at some point,” said Kashmir strategist Ashok Bhan.A section in BJP said Kher may be a Kashmiri Pandit by birthright, but he can’t be counted among those Pandits who suffered displacement or violence in the 90s. “Kher was born in Shimla and has spent a lot of time in Mumbai. And suddenly, he wakes up to being a Kashmiri Pandit leader. During the recent NIT row, he even tried to visit Srinagar and embarrassed our own government,” said a party leader associated with the film industry.