Bengaluru: Sandalwood actor and filmmaker Upendra is now testing his luck in politics again. His new political party Uttama Prajaakeeya Party (UPP) was launched, during his 50th birthday programme organised at his residence in Kathriguppe here on September 18.
It may be recalled that Upendra had launched the Karnataka Pragnyavanthara Paksha (KPJP) in Bengaluru’s Gandhi Bhavan during October 2017. The first press conference, which was organised to inform the media was very interesting with journalists seated on the stage instead of occupying seats in the audience.
However, the party broke apart even before it could contest its first election, after differences emerged between Upendra and Mahesh Gowda, an independent politician he founded the party with.
After launching the new party Upendra said, ”We were riding on a different boat, a year ago. We didn’t know that it was leaking. This time we have built our own boat. We would not abandon the ideals the party was based on. Several members of KPJP have made the switch along with me to the newly formed UPP”, he said.
Meanwhile, Upendra claimed that anyone could join the party from any part of the state if they could submit ideas with documents and proofs to the party. The proposals will be reviewed by the party’s expert committee which includes Upendra. “We have received over 10,000 proposals from interested people and are reviewing each proposal. We have five or six people with us here today as well,” Upendra added.
When we go back to the history of sandalwood, we can see that actors getting into politics has had mixed success in the state. Actor Umashri is a cabinet minister and ‘Rebel Star’ Ambareesh has also been a minister with the Congress in the past. Others like Shankar Nag and Anant Nag have campaigned for the Janata Dal in the 1980s. Though contesting in the election is an easy task, forming the own party is quite difficult. But, Upendra is the first person, launching his own political party in Sandalwood.
After a career in films laced with political and social messages, one even having him play the role of a chief minister, Upendra is now set for his second crack at politics. With a campaign built on the concept of transparency and honesty, the questions are only going to be sharper from here on for Upendra and he will have to answer them soon or his political dreams will remain confined to his films.
The actor is aiming to balance his film career with his political one and plans to contest elections from either Bengaluru or from his hometown of Kundapura in Udupi district.
