Kannada Actor Upendra Quits Party After Rebellion; Says Will Float Another Outfit, Not Join BJP

Bengaluru: The inevitable has happened. Kannada superstar Upendra, who wanted to upset political equations in the state Assembly elections, quit the party, which he founded just four months ago, following a massive internal rebellion against him.

Ruling out the possibility of joining the BJP, Upendra said he will form another political party. Addressing the media, he said, “I will form another political party. I will continue in politics. But I am not joining the BJP.”

After many of his party colleagues came out against him on Monday, calling him a dictator, rumour mills were abuzz that Upendra might join the BJP on Tuesday. Several top BJP leaders, including Shobha Karandlaje and R Ashoka, had also invited him to the saffron brigade. But Upendra has politely turned down their offer.

According to his close aides, he might name his new political outfit ‘Omkara’.

Upendra had founded a political party called ‘Prajakeeya’ a few months ago. It was loosely based on the ideology of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and had promised to weed out corruption and nepotism. Ironically, on the very first day, he had appointed his wife and brother to top positions in the party, upsetting many of his followers.

After the much-hyped launch of the party, there was no activity at all, triggering speculation over his next move. Some had even stated that Upendra’s party launch was a gimmick and he actually had no interest in making it a political force.

On Monday afternoon, Shivakumar, vice-president of the Prajakeeya appeared before the media, attacking his leader. Speaking to News18, he said that Upendra was behaving like a “dictator” and was busy promoting his wife and brother.

“Upendra may be a big film star. But he is acting like a dictator. He is not ready to take us into confidence. He says that all tickets will be decided by him and listens to no one. He is also preferring family over party. Elections are just two months away. We don’t even have a manifesto or action plan ready. We have questioned him on this. But he refused to react,” he said.

According to him, there was a heated argument between many leaders and Upendra at his party’s national committee meeting two days ago.

Upendra’s spokesperson Anand had said that all issues would be addressed by the superstar and there was no need for other leaders to go to media against him.

Speaking to News18, he said, “Revolution won’t happen overnight. It takes time. Upendra is a revolutionary leader. These people must understand that. Election is not the only thing in which he is interested. He thinks beyond that.”

On Sunday, Upendra had tweeted that March 6 would his Agni Pareeksha Day.