Capt Gopinath joins AAP

This is his second political plunge after he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls from Bangalore South constituency in 2009

Capt Gopinath, the low-cost aviation pioneer, is the latest to figure in the growing list of well-known names from the corporate world to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from Bangalore. A week after Infosys’ former board member V Balakrishnan joined AAP, Gopinath on Friday said he was aligning with the party.

“I have been involved in the movement started by (anti-corruption crusader) Anna Hazare when he first started his fast. After Delhi, Bangalore was the most active centre supporting his cause. With former Karnataka Lok Ayukta Santosh Hege, I was active with the movement. I had met Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal... I am now taking that step forward,” Gopinath told Business Standard.

This is the second time Gopinath, who founded companies like Air Deccan, Deccan Charters and Deccan 360, is taking the political plunge. In 2009, he had contested the Lok Sabha polls from the Bangalore South constituency, but lost.

“I have just joined the party and it is too early to comment on my future course of role,” Gopinath explained.

Meanwhile, AAP in Bangalore maintained the party is not about the rich or the well-educated.

“The amount of money you have or your educational qualifications or class does not matter (to the party). AAP is about those who are disempowered,” said Prithvi Reddy, a Bangalore-based entrepreneur and member of AAP’s national executive.

With an eye on expanding its presence in Karnataka, AAP has been looking for candidates with a good social image and clean record.

AAP’s first candidate form Karnataka would possibly be the famous ‘Rs 5 doctor’ —Dr S C Shankare Gowda, who treats his patients for Rs 5 in Mandya, while he treats people in his village for free — likely to be fielded from the Mandya parliamentary constituency, said Reddy.

Dr Shankare Gowda is loved by people of the district for his service to society. "There is a public pressure on Dr Gowda to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Mandya, we are trying to persuade him to be the AAP candidate," Reddy noted.

Dr Shankare Gowda, is a living legend in Mandya. Hailing from Shivanahalli taluk, he treats patients at his village in the morning and at his clinic in Mandya in the afternoon. While he charges Rs 5 for patients in Mandya, he treats patients free in his village. He is also an agriculturist, farming on his 6-acre plot and treats labourers who come to him free of cost.

Reddy said, the Indian tradition of king and his subjects (or ruler and ruled) prevails, which is what AAP wants to demolish.