BENGALURU: Actor-turned-politician Upendra on Tuesday launched Uttama Prajakeeya Party (UPP), his own political party, on the occasion of his birthday. He is likely to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the state. Last year, on his birthday, Upendra had expressed his desire to join politics, and later had joined hands with Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) which was already a registered party. The relationship, however, did not last long. He quit the party even before the Assembly polls were held.
Upendra agreed that his venture with the KPJP was a mistake. “We launched KPJP thinking that it will represent our ideologies, but it went in the wrong direction.” Giving an analogy, he explained, “We wanted a coat for us, but realised that it was a torn coat, so we decided to stitch a brand new one.”
Speaking about the new party, Upendra revealed the eligibility criteria to contest elections on a ticket from his party. “Candidates who want to contest elections ... all they have to do is record the actual problems of their constituency or ward and chalk out their vision to solve these problems, frame draft budget, discuss it with local residents and then experts. All of this has to be recorded using a phone or video camera, uploaded to the www.prajakeeya.org website. Selected candidates will be called, have to write exams and then the expert panel will take the final call,’’ he said. He claimed that he had the support of former Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde and activist Anna Hazare.
“If a party, after winning, does not implement their manifesto, one should be able to question it in the court. This has to be brought under the Constitution,’’ he said, adding that political parties have to release manifestoes six months before any election. When asked if he is also one among the aspirants, the actor said, “If the panel selects me, then I will contest,” he said. When asked which constituency he would fight from, he just said either the place where his residence is located (Bengaluru South) or his hometown (Kundapur).