"HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE..a new beginning .. more responsibility.. with your support, I will be contesting in the coming parliament elections as an INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE. Details of the constituency soon. Ab ki baar Janatha ki SARKAR #citizensvoice #justasking in Parliament too," Prakash Raj tweeted out on the eve of New Year, taking not many by a surprise.

The actor has been voicing opinionated political stances for about a year, especially ever since the assassination of writer Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru in late 2017.

As per speculations, the senior actor will contest from Karnataka and his campaign could mainly target the BJP rather than the ruling Congress-JDS establishment. The use of the phrase 'Ab ki baar, janatha ki sarkar' says it all. It's a counter to BJP's 2014 campaign slogan of 'Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar'.

In the recently-held Assembly elections in the Kannada state, he held several impromptu meetings.