Actor Prakash Raj on Saturday announced that he will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Bengaluru Central constituency. Last week, Raj had declared he would contest the polls as an independent candidate.
“Thank you for the warm and encouraging response to my new journey,” Raj said in a tweet confirming the development. “I will be contesting from Bengaluru Central constituency in Karnataka as an Independent. I will share the details with the media in a few days.”
In the tweet, Raj posted an image showing the eight assembly constituencies under the Bengaluru Central seat, including Gandhi Nagar, Charajpet, Sarvagnanagar, Shanti Nagar, Rajaji Nagar, CV Raman Nagar, Shivajinagar and Mahadevapura. Raj is likely to contest against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s PC Mohan, who has held the Bengaluru Central seat since 2009, ANI reported.
Raj has been a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government for several months. Last year, he had posted several tweets with the hashtag #justasking, in which he spoke out against the government, demonetisation, censorship and moral policing. The actor had criticised Prime Minister Modi’s “silence” on journalist Gauri Lankesh’s death and had claimed the BJP “is like cancer”.
Kamal Haasan, AAP extend support
Makkal Needhi Maiam President Kamal Haasan on Sunday wished Raj “all the best” for his political journey ahead. “Wishing my friend Prakash Raj all the very best in his political journey,” Haasan tweeted. “Thanks for walking the talk.”
The Aam Aadmi Party also extended support to the actor. In a tweet, the party said that Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia welcomed the decision and said all good people were welcome to join politics.
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