Actor Prakash Raj, who recently took the plunge into politics, made it clear on Friday that it wouldn’t be a good idea if people voted for him based on his credentials as an actor.

“Acting is my profession. But it would not be good if they support me because I am an actor,” Raj, 53, who has featured in films in multiple languages, told a news conference in Bangalore.

Instead, he wants people to support him for how he raised his voice for the common people and for secular ideals. When Tamil actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan had decided to join politics, Raj had said people should vote for them not for their prowess as actors but for what they have done for society.

Raj, a strident critic of Right-wing politics and the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah combine, has announced that he will contest as an Independent in the Lok Sabha polls. The announcement was made at the stroke of midnight when the city was welcoming the new year.

Asked why he chose to contest as an Independent, Raj quipped that he wouldn’t survive for three months if he joined a political party.

“I want to be the voice of citizens. Today any parliamentarian who gets lakhs of votes would instantly become merely a vote the moment he reaches Delhi,” he said, alluding to how MPs fundamentally stick to what their party wants.

But he is open to accepting support from any secular party. Within days of Raj announcing his decision, the Aam Aadmi Party, which has unsuccessfully contested elections in Karnataka, had supported him.

Told about the possibility of him splitting Congress votes, Raj said: “If the Congress feels that I would eat into their votes, why can’t they support me?”

The actor said he could stand up against communalism without joining a party. “You say that I am contesting against two national parties. I am not contesting against anybody, but rather I am contesting for the people.”

On his choice of Bangalore Central, Raj said it was the place where he was born, where he grew up and started his career as an actor — first on stage and then in films.

“This is my constituency. My childhood friends and relatives live here. Bangalore Central is a mini India where many languages are spoken,” Raj said, speaking a smattering of Kannada, English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu — the languages spoken in the area.

The Bangalore Central seat is currently held by the BJP.

Raj said the murder of senior journalist and friend Gauri Lankesh had provided the spark for him to become vocal.

Motorcycle-borne hitmen shot and killed Gauri on September 5, 2017, outside her home. Several men arrested for the crime are in custody, awaiting trial.

“Everyone has a certain time when they change their views,” Raj said, referring to the incident that shocked the progressive movement across the country.

On why he chose to run for a Lok Sabha berth, he said the “communal politics” that played out during the campaign for the Karnataka Assembly elections in May had discouraged him from taking the plunge. But that experience also became a catalyst to be the people’s voice, Raj said.

“Over the last six months I increasingly felt that people’s voice should be heard,” he said.