Multilingual actor Prakash Raj surprised his adversaries and his numerous fans when he announced that he would contest as an Independent candidate from Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency. Why does a successful actor decide to get into the unpredictable world of electoral politics, that too, not by joining an existing party but by striking out alone as an independent? When asked this, Prakash Raj said, "I think, I believe, I can feel the disillusionment of the people that both the national parties, they have not delivered. And if people are coming to me now, though I started voicing alone; I believe they have realized I am saying what is there in their hearts. An election is actually a conversation between the candidate and the person who elects."

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During a recent interview, Prakash Raj told, "The last ten years we see a decade that they sit at home when they win the election... This has become a business. So as I walk down, I tell them this is not the time to blame anyone. We need to blame ourselves because of all non-governance or corruption, the root is our electoral process. And as I talk about the issues which are really haunting the city and they realize - yes we are also responsible for electing the wrong people. I think Karnataka, India is ready for alternative politics."

He is critical of the contribution of the sitting MP. "They have seen the report card for the last ten years. They have not seen him on the streets. They have seen him again in the last 20 days of the election. I think they are waiting to answer it," he added.  Prakash Raj was a close friend of journalist Gauri Lankesh, who led a Bengaluru-based edition of a weekly Kannada newspaper, who was shot dead outside her home in 2017 - allegedly by members of right-wing groups. Prakash Raj said, "Gauri made me feel responsible, shiver, guilty. If I was not silent, if I had voiced with her, she wouldn't have been killed? We can't get her back, but I don't want another Gauri. We need to leave the comfort zone."

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