Volunteers line up for 'no frills' Gopinath election bid

Bangalore: From new economy leaders to young volunteers, all are pledging support to Captain G.R. Gopinath, who pioneered India's low-cost airline Air Deccan, as he prepares to contest the Lok Sabha polls from the high profile Bangalore South constituency.
The 54-year-old former army officer-turned sericulturist and aviation entrepreneur is taking on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary H.N. Ananth Kumar, who is seeking re-election from Bangalore South for the fifth time in a row.
Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar Gopinath, Gopi to his friends and colleagues, is not deterred by BJP's organising capacity or the conspiracy theories surrounding his intention to jump into the poll fray.
Among the theories making the rounds is that Gopinath is being propped up by Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to scuttle Ananth Kumar's chances. Yeddyurappa, BJP's first chief minister in south India, and Ananth Kumar are competing to control the state party unit.
Talking to IANS, after announcing he will contest from Bangalore South, Gopinath rubbished this speculation.
"I am fighting to win and bring change to society. I am not for any party. Otherwise I would have joined some known political party. I am joining politics to bring good governance and social harmony," he said.
The election is his second attempt at the hustings. He contested on a BJP ticket for the Karnataka assembly in 1994 from a constituency in his home district Hassan. He lost.
Gopinath said that he zeroed in on the Bangalore South constituency after hours of discussions with his close friends, including Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Infosys Technologies director T.V. Mohandas Pai, and fashion designer Prasad Bidapa.
Gopinath's wife Bhargavi and daughters Pallavi and Krithika will join the campaign. He intends to target all sections of Bangalore, from IT professionals to slum dwellers.
Gopinath exited the no-frills, low cost airlines business last year selling his controlling stake in Air Deccan to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who runs Kingfisher airlines. He is now busy launching a cargo service which is scheduled to take off May-end.
01/04/09 IANS/Economic Times

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Categories: Deccan Aviation Apr 2009