Why Dr. Rajkumar refused to contest against Indira Gandhi in 1978

His explanation was: 'Had the intention behind asking me to contest been that I could make a positive contribution in politics, I would have considered it. But the purpose was to use me as a weapon against someone.'

Sandalwood's matinee idol Dr. Rajkumar remains one of the biggest stars in the country till date. It is not just because he was a movie superstar but his decision to remain in the people's hearts as an artiste, and not as a political leader.

It was the time when film stars were cashing in on their popularity. In Tamil Nadu, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) forayed into politics and became the Chief Minister of State. N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) repeated the same in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. Political analysts believe that Rajkumar too would have made it big in politics had he opted for the path chosen by his contemporaries in other regions. But Annavaru, as Rajkumar is also known, remained firm on his decision on not entering politics.

Chikkamagaluru by-poll

In fact, the Janata Party desperately wanted the Sandalwood star to contest against former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha by-election in 1978. Had he contested, Rajkumar would have easily won the poll. A win against Indira Gandhi could have brought him under the national limelight and fetch a plum post. Yet, he was reluctant to contest.

Former Union Minister and Janta Party stalwart George Fernandez and many other State leaders approached Dr. Rajkumar. According to political analyst M.K. Bhaskar Rao, former CM J.H. Patel met the mega actor in Chennai, but Annavaru decided to remain apolitical. As the pressure to contest the poll started increasing, he rather preferred to go untraceable than to succumb to it.

In fact, Janata Party leaders kept looking for him everywhere. Legendary filmmaker S.K. Bhagwan, who passed away recently, had revealed in an interview that they searched even his house and office. "The Janata Party members searched my house from top to bottom in Bengaluru. They did not spare the toilets and even looked behind the curtains and searched my theatre on the first floor," he recalled in an interview with TNM.

However, Dr Rajkumar was staying in a farmhouse near Ranipet. He came out only after the last date of the deadline for filing nomination had ended. Interestingly, the actor never spoke much about his decision to stay out of the 1978 by-poll although there were many speculations over his not contesting against Indira Gandhi.

Finally, son revealed the secret

In 2018, Annavaru's son Raghavendra Rajkumar revealed the long-kept secret. "I had completed Second PU and was preparing to join medical college. After wanting to ask my father about this issue for quite some time, I asked him. He said, 'I do not think you are old enough to understand it. It is not the right time for me to reveal it either. I will tell you when the time is right. Do you remember [the film] Kaviratna Kalidasa? Heluvudakku Keluvudakku Idu Samayavalla' [this is not the time to say it]," Bangalore Mirror quoted him as saying.

Well, a year before his death, Dr Rajkumar told him why he turned down the offer to contest against the former PM. "In 2005, he underwent a knee surgery in Chennai. He called me alone to the hospital room and reminded me of my question many years earlier. It is surprising now to realise that he told this to me alone. Not even mother (Parvathamma), anna (Shiva Rajkumar), tamma (Puneeth) or Baraguru Ramachandrappa, who was close to him," Raghavendra said.

"If the intention behind asking me to contest was that I could make a positive contribution in politics, I could have considered contesting. But the purpose for seeking me was to use me as a weapon. When I was asked to join the Gokak Movement [which he did five years after the 1978 election], I was glad to participate. My participation was necessary and I could make a positive contribution. But for that election, I was not a necessity. I was only required to defeat someone. Was I right in not contesting?' he asked me. 'When can you be wrong,' I replied," said Raghavandra.

All through his career Dr. Rajkumar kept himself out of politics and this quality made him stand out in the crowd. He never wanted to cash in on his popularity as a film star. It is to be noted that Dr Rajkumar's popularity was at its peak in 70s and 80s, when the offer had come.

Gokak agitation

A fine example of his popularity can be seen during the Gokak agitation. The movement, launched by litterateurs, political parties and Kannada activists demanding primacy of Kannada language in the schools, had a lukewarm response from the public. However, the agitation became a mass movement once Rajkumar joined it.

Sanskrit was the first language at the time in Karnataka high schools, making the State language Kannada the third choice. With his support, Dr. Rajkumar forced the Congress government which had refused to accept the recommendations made by an expert committee, headed by Jnanpith recipient V.K. Gokak, accept the report. This eventually led to the fall of the Gundu Rao government then.