The Mysuru MP, a popular newspaper columnist, is credited with introducing PM Narendra Modi to a large section of Kannada readers through his 2008 book.
The journalist, who became a parliamentarian in 2014 riding on a Modi wave, is seen as a victim whose trust was betrayed by Manoranjan Devaraj, a 33-year-old from his Mysuru constituency, who was among the two who jumped into Lok Sabha.