participated in the comedy show Comedy Ka Maha Muqabala. Political career The Samajwadi Party (SP) fielded Srivastava from Kanpur Lok Sabha constituency for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. But on 11 March 2014, Srivastav returned the ticket, saying he was not getting enough support from the local units of the party. SP was expecting him to quit as the contest in the seat had become important. SP withdrew his candidature from Kanpur after he quit. Within days of leaving SP, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 19 March 2014. BJP did not give him the ticket for Lok Sabha 2014. He campaigned in support of BJP candidates in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. In 2014, he was appointed by the BJP led Union government as the brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and had recorded advertisements for the campaign. In 2018, Srivastav disclosed on social media that he would get the chance to contest in the 2019 Indian general election as BJP candidate for Lok Sabha, although that did not materialize. In March 2019, he was appointed by the BJP-led Government of Uttar Pradesh as the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council. Reception Widely described as the "king of comedy", his looks were also noted for having resembled Amitabh Bachchan. In January 2021, Raju Srivastav released a small video clip on social media criticizing the creators and actors of the web series Tandav for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments by insulting Hindu religion and Hindu deities. In response, filmmaker Vinod Kapri and others shared several videos of Srivastav's comedy shows where he had used Hindu deities and the Indian holy epic Ramayana in his comedy sketches. Kapri said that Srivastav had mocked Hindu god Brahma and had joked about Brahma meeting actor Madhuri Dixit and that Brahma's white beard would turn red. Following Shrivastav's death, comedian Sunil Pal praised Shrivastav and added that "He would help juniors find gigs. He would also help his juniors financially, made sure they are paid on time and paid well. He brought in a lot of good changes in the comedy circle". Comedian Bharti Singh said that Shrivastav's death is "a great loss for the entire country". Personal life Srivastav married Shikha from Lucknow on 1 July 1993. They had two children, a boy and a girl. Death On 10 August 2022, while running on the treadmill in the gym,