Arjun Sampath is the founder of Hindu Makkal Katchi, a nationalist Hindu party based out of Tamil Nadu. He was an RSS pracharak in the 1980s and part of the Hindu Munnani, a cultural organisation that was founded in 1980, and vows to protect Hindu rights. Over the years, many of their members have been accused in several cases dealing with communal violence. Sampath himself has been arrested several times for his controversial remarks and activities like wrapping the statue of Thiruvalluvar in a saffron shawl. His party is supporting the BJP in Tamil Nadu and he believes that the time is up for Dravidian politics. He says Coimbatore is the gateway for the saffron party to enter Tamil Nadu, a bastion of social justice politics led by the Dravidian parties. In an exclusive interview with Outlook, he speaks about the Coimbatore district and why its history of communal violence matters in this election. Chinki Sinha with Romanapreet.