By IANS,
New Delhi : Clad in denims, a cotton kurti and a big blue “bindi” and with a marked Kannada accent, the dusky model, movie actress and doctoral fellow from Bangalore is an unlikely political commentator. Meet Lakshmi Priya, an emerging writer who released her political comment, “Rahul Gandhi: The Great Warrior of Indian Politics” at the 20th World Book Fair.
“When I met Rahul Gandhi in 2007, his style of functioning prompted me to take him as a role model. I had been elected a trade union leader and he had come to Bangalore,” Lakshmi Priya told IANS.
The young writer who has appeared in six Kannada films and has taken part in the Gladrags and Kingfisher model hunt contests, is pursuing a doctorate in political management.
Lakshmi Priya was judged Miss Bangalore in 2006.
She has completed shooting for her seventh Kannada movie “Nakara” made by Sharat Hassan, the writer said.
“I met him several times between 2007 and 2010 in connection with the book. The book is an observation of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership quality and his views on rural development, rural uplift, sustainable development and his engagement with the marginalized sections of the society,” Lakshmi Priya said.
The writer said “she knew of the other biographies of Rahul Gandhi which had probed the Congress general secretary’s personal life and his party polity”.
“But my book is academic and research-based. I have not touched his personal life or his Congress politics. I have compared his policies and interaction with people from the social fringe to those by great leaders. I have drawn analogy from the Bhagwad Gita to comment on his vision of leadership,” Lakshmi Priya said.
The writer said “she was the first to approach Rahul Gandhi with an idea for a political account in 2007 when he was not the general secretary of the Congress party”.
“He knew about the book from the manuscript stage. But by the time I completed my book few more Rahul Gandhi biographies had arrived in the market,” she said.
Rahul Gandhi has three copies of her book. “I am ready with my next book on Rahul Gandhi’s views about women’s empowerment, national security and employment,” she said.
Lakshmi Priya’s book has been published by Chennai-based Manimekalai Prusuram.