Though he admitted that the defeat in the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat was a “a solid slap on my face”, actor Prakash Raj, however, vowed to continue his “fight for secular India”. Mr. Raj, who contested as an independent, has secured 28,915 according to data available on the Election Commission website at 4.20 pm. “A solid slap on my face... as more abuse... troll... and humiliation come my way... I will stand my ground... my resolve to fight for secular India will continue... a tough journey has just begun... thank you everyone who were with me in this journey. Jai hind,” Mr Raj tweeted.
Mr. Raj became active in politics after the murder of his friend and journalist Gauri Lankesh by suspected Hindutva activists in September 2017. Following the cold-blooded murder, he started tweeting a series of posers — under the hashtag #justasking — many of them directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Among the first in the series were questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over his supporters “celebrating” Lankesh’s assassination.
Months later, he announced his decision to fight the Lok Sabha election. He chose to fight as an Independent rather than join the anti-Modi Opposition formation. Long before the Election Commission announced the election, the actor-director-producer began crisscrossing his chosen constituency, Bangalore Central.
Published - May 23, 2019 05:22 pm IST
