8. What would you have to say about communal politics in the state? Having close ties with Bhatkal, there were those who didn’t want you to make speeches there but you did with not much ado. Hindutva is also a strong factor for the saffron wave, be it in some pockets during the state elections or this time around. Your comment.

I am not secular in the sense that people use the term. I am a Hindu. And only a Hindu can be really secular. I will never ever say I am not a Hindu to appease anyone. Even when I went to Bhatkal, the ones who opposed were not Muslims. My Hindu identity is being opposed because some see me as a very provocative exponent of Hindutva but, whether I am provocative or not, I am a staunch exponent of Hindutva.

When I clean a kalyani or a river near a temple, I do it not just from the environmental perspective but also from a pious religious perspective. Hindutva is in my blood, you can’t take it away. But this Hindutva is one that believes in ‘Live and let live’, not one that looks at killing people. I stay far away from those who believe in such extremist Hindutva. ‘Sarvarige sama bala sarvarige samapalu’ that is my Hindutva. My Hindutva is Narendra Modi’s ‘Sabka saath sabka vikas’. And this Hindutva I will forever stand by and will urge everyone to follow too.



Not just in Bhatkal, anywhere in the country, local Hindus and Muslims are always fine with each other. It is only the ‘outsiders’ who come in and create issues. Even in Bhatkal, it is the ‘outside Muslim’ or ‘the outside Hindu’ who will come and create disturbances. One small incident is enough. As the dialogue from Bhajrangi Bhaijan shows, ‘Nafrat …..’

It is easy to incite negative feelings. To give you an instance, in my native place, Honnavara, there is a mosque right in front of my house. I woke up to the azan that was my alarm. We all attended each other’s functions, every Ganesh Chaturthi, the Muslims in the area came home for lunch and never did the thought of it being prasad or hence unacceptable ever arise. But after the murder of Paresh Mestha, things took an ugly turn.



Investigations are still on. Most politicians made charged speeches. But the town changed forever. There was no entry to those from other states in that mosque earlier. They would tell them ‘we are doing fine here, and all is peaceful’ and send them away. But after many leaders made spiteful speeches after Paresh Mesthas murder calling for a ‘cleansing’ and the like, there were forces from other states who came in and told them, look you have no alternative but to have us help you save yourself’ and they had to give in. And all that followed changed the fabric of that town forever. Honnavara hasn’t come to normalcy to this day.



It is impossible to undo this. Which is why I always ask people to behave sensibly. This is often taken as my attempt to be ‘secular’ in the not-so-affirmative sense of the term, but I don’t mind. This is not only my nation. Is it possible to kill 20 crore Hindus or will they kill 80 crore Hindus? No. The only thing we can do is stand under the tiranga together, salute it and live well.



And this is something we need to learn from Modi. I immensely appreciate the way he condemns somethings very very strictly. Be it during the lynching episode, or the Godse controversy involving Pragya Singh, he has been very clear about not tolerating any divisive action. ‘I will never forgive her,’ he had said.

That was a strong yet subtle message to those who are trying to be divisive. And that, in my view, is going to ensure that Muslims are a huge vote bank for Modi in the next five years. It has happened this time around too. There has been a shift. A few Muslim leaders who came to my office to break a fast one evening during Ramzan asked me if I had heard Modi’s Ramzan wishes. “That man is different Sir, he has said everything that we should be saying,” they exclaimed.

This is the shift I am talking about. He is setting the narrative, which unfortunately our leaders down here do not seem to understand or are not able to carry forward. They are all still stuck in two-decade-old politicking where the Congress sets the narrative, especially of appeasement and then they react. Modi is changing it but that’s not happening at the state level.



I feel bad because it seems like they have not been able to understand Narendra Modi. Many MPs of Karnataka sadly have not understood his ideas. He also uses Hindutva but there is a way he does it. The style with which he does it, is different. If only they could all take a leaf from his book, things would be different. But clearly, they do not seem to get it.

Forget Muslims, will these leaders be able to consolidate the Vokkaliga vote? While Lingayat votes are what you think you manage to get, you lose out on the Gowda votes. The Kurubas too you haven’t been able to get to vote for you. Not just have you not been able to get Muslim votes, you haven’t managed to consolidate Hindu votes either. Which means, you do not have the know-how. In the larger perspective, you are not looking at Hindus as Hindus, you are breaking them into factions. On the other end, you are also creating opposition from Muslims.



So, how will it work for the BJP here? It won’t. This, in turn, is what the Congress benefits from. The Kurubas vote for them, so do the others who are anti-JDS. In any region, if there are 1 lakh Kurubas, and 1 lakh Muslims, the Congress vote count begins from 2 lakh, while the BJP has to start at 0. But they do not want to understand this. The leadership in the state is a huge problem in Karnataka.

9. How is the BJP going to retain the seats that it has won? Or rather will it?

The BJP will survive because the other two in the Opposition fail to do so. But it can't survive on its own accord if it continues to function the way it currently does. The infighting within the Congress is high and Congress minus Sidharamaiah is zero as of today. But they will try and save him at any cost. The JD(S) is in tatters, as they are yet to figure out their own internal setup. The only person who has a ‘people connect’ is Kumaraswamy. If he jumps over to the BJP that will be the end of JD(S). I have a strong feeling it will happen. If that happens, then the Gowdas can't vote for the Congress. That will shift. And that is what will save the scene.

10. What is your definition of Nationalism and where does Narendra Modi fit into it?

To live for this land, this water, this community of people is Nationalism for me. Mainly living for the people of this land is Nationalism. And Narendra Modi has lived only for the people and that for me is the best definition of Nationalism. If you look at any of the thoughts, words and articulations of any nationalist thinkers, they have all been about bonding with the people, and that for me is nationalism. Narendra Modi lives and works for the last man, what we call the ‘antyodaya’, and that is nationalism for me.

11. In what way do you associate Indian Nationalism with Hindutva?

My nationality is Hindu. If you ask me my nationality, I will say it is Hindu. Because Hindu as a religion is how the Westerners view it. For me, it is my life. It is this Dharma that has taught me how to live. So, this Dharma which is connected to this nation is part of Nationalism. I do not see a difference between Hindutva and Nationalism. What I call Indianness or the ones I call Indians for me are all Hindus. I see no difference.

Discriminating between the two would be plain ignorance. However, ‘religion’ is very different from Dharma. Religion is a much narrower concept while Dharma has a larger meaning. The way I should be with my mother, my Hindu Dharma has taught me. From interactions to the way in which we conduct every single aspect of our life, the dharma of this land has taught me. This, which has given me my way of life and conduct, in accordance with the times we live in, that is Hindu for me. Hence, for me, even if someone is Muslim by religion, every Indian is Hindu because culturally, he is following the tenets of the Hindu way of life, what he has inherited by virtue of being born in this part of the world.

12. Suppose you have to advise the Congress on how to regain the nationalism space, what would be your counsel? The first thing they need to do is give up the obsession for family. As long as the Congress continues with its dynastic politics, they will never be one with the Indian consciousness. Because, here, even when we had monarchs, the King earned his respect only because he was seen as someone willing to sacrifice it all for the common good. No emperor went about accumulating it all for just his GenNext. If we take just the example of Karnataka, we are a land that saw the reign of great kings like Amogha Varsha Nrupatunga, who, when he came to know that his son had erred, ordered capital punishment for him. In such a scenario, If you think about it, dynastic politics is acceptable in times of slavery. But when the nationalist thought comes alive, it is impossible. If the Congress had continued on the path that Lal Bahadur Shastri, P V Narasimha Rao tried to pave for the party, this wouldn’t be the plight of the party. But it is very difficult for them to come out of the situation they are in today . Even when Rahul Gandhi wants to resign, they are not willing because they are not ready, they are in the clutches of the dynastic scheme of things. And this will make things difficult for their very survival. If they want to survive, they should open up the party.

13. You distance yourself from politics and it is a rule that Yuva Brigade events too don’t have any politicians on the dais. While those in the political arena fear you have electoral ambitions, you reiterate you will never get into politics. Your comments.

If you jump into politics, people will lose faith in you. The reason people have faith in me is this. When I started campaigning for Modi in 2014, people started saying, “Oh, he will jump into politics, he will ask for a ticket this time itself, just watch.” I was also offered an opportunity by many senior leaders to think about contesting from Udupi, Mysore, Uttara Kannada. But I told them it is not to my liking and more importantly, I have made a promise to the people to work for Modi. People then started thinking, which “MLA seat I will contest,” but that stage too has passed by.

This time around, the BJP never asked me about political ambitions because they were very clear that I would not entertain such talks. So journalists started asking me whether I was looking at a Rajya Sabha nomination. This faith or the reason people turn up at my rallies is because they know that this man is not talking with a political intent in mind. This faith and trust that I have earned will be lost if I even think of taking one step in a political direction. And I do not want that to happen. But I would love to be part of policy-making.



When Narendra Modi said add the epithet ‘Chowkidar’ to my name, I didn’t heed to his request. Because there was no fun in being a ‘Chowkidar’ then during the elections. It is after the elections that one has to be a Chowkidar. Now I am a Chowkidar.

A journalist in Chikkodi asked me, “You are asking us to vote but will you take the responsibility of making them work?” It is not constitutionally possible. But then, you can challenge them, and that’s what we have been doing. We will take up one village, why don’t you too? We will share ‘usiru’ (breath), we will distribute plants to 1,000 houses in one district, why don’t you do it on a larger scale? You have the mechanism for it, do it for 10,000 people. So we will throw challenges, we will ask for an account of what you have done. Make your work public.



Because, in the next election, there is going to be anti-incumbency in the 25 seats in Karnataka. This time around, there were 18 and so in the other 11, we could talk of anti-incumbency against them and seek those seats. But in 2024, all 25 seats can turn completely around. If the Modi factor dips, then all 25 seats could fall flat. There are chances that the count will plummet to zero as well. To avoid this, it is important that the MPs gain the faith of the people from now itself and work towards strengthening society over the next five years.

Coming back to my stepping into politics, if a journalist who does well jumps into politics it is a “loss to journalism”. If I jump to politics, tomorrow any orator who makes speeches with conviction will still not be taken seriously. They will dismiss him saying “We have seen Chakravarthi, so please...” Hence, if I have to set an example I have to stay focused.



Swamiji (Vivekananda) says the only mantra is “Work, Work, Work” for the development of this nation. So work so much that you inspire whoever comes along, and if no one does, then “Ekla cholo”!

So, my focus has been to only keep working. Because everything that being in politics would get me, I have got — and the faith people have in me, I wouldn’t want to sacrifice for anything.