Bengaluru: Kannada film actor Sudeep popularly known as ‘Kichcha’ Sudeep on Wednesday stated to support Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on a personal note and added that he would campaign for candidates on the orders of Bommai in the ensuing Assembly elections.
He, however, made it clear that he had not joined the Bharatiya Janata Party to which Basavaraj Bommai belongs nor has intention to contest the ensuing Assembly polls.
Sudeep said, “Even, if Bommai asks me to contest the elections, I will not” and evaded whether he would campaign for candidates of other parties in the ensuing Assembly polls. “It would not be possible for me to tour all the constituencies of the State,” he said at a press conference in Bengaluru attended by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Ministers- R. Ashoka, Munirathna and D. Sudhakar.
He clarified that he was not under pressure to support Basavaraj Bommai and said “I have known Bommai since my childhood and affectionately call him “Mama’ (Uncle in English). It was Bommai who stood by me during my early days in the Kannada film industry.”
Continuing, he said, “My support for Bommai is for gratitude and as a mark of respect for him.” He, however, said to appreciate certain works of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he “agreed to a lot of things of Modi.”
To a question that leaders have been joining BJP fearing Income Tax officials raids, Sudeep said “I am not the person to bow to pressure” and that the IT raid on his residence was over and IT officials found nothing.
To another query on how he would deal with the 40 percent commission charge against BJP, Sudeep said, “The law will do its action.”
In reply to a query over his photograph with president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) D.K. Shivakumar, Sudeep said “There will be invitations for celebrities from leaders to campaign and there is nothing wrong in it” and added “It is for the person (celebrity) to decide.”
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said to welcome Sudeep in the party's campaign and that party leaders would chalk out the modalities of his campaigning in the ensuing polls. Bommai said that the party had gained strength with the inclusion of Sudeep, a popular actor, in its campaigning.
Sudeep receives anonymous letter
Earlier in the day, a police complaint was lodged by Sudeep’s Manager Jack Manju after two letters were sent by an anonymous person threatening to post the actor's private videos on social networking sites. A complaint has been lodged at Puttenahalli police station in Bengaluru.
