MP Sumalatha to contest from Mandya

Assembly polls – May 10

Bengaluru, April 4: In an attempt to capture JD(S) bastion, especially Mandya district,

 In a significant move to capture the south Karnataka region, especially Mandya district, which is considered a JD (S) bastion, the BJP is contemplating bringing MP Sumalatha.

She is likely to foray into the state politics a

head of the upcoming Assembly elections, according to highly placed party sources. BJP insiders explain that their party is planning to field the actress-turned-politician from the Mandya Assembly seat.

She will not only contest the May 10 elections but also work as a star campaigner in the six other Assembly seats of the district which she represents at present. Sumalatha joined the BJP recently and won as an independent candidate from Mandya in the 2019 parliamentary elections.

The saffron party had declared support for her candidature. In the 2019 polls, she defeated Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the son of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, by a whopping margin of more than a lakh votes.

Sumalatha is the widow of the late Kannada superstar Ambareesh, who is regarded as an iconic figure of the Vokkaliga community. It may be recalled that Ambareesh had pursued a political career for about three decades and had a large number of supporters and a fan base.

He hailed from Mandya.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is determined to make headway in the south Karnataka region which has 57 Assembly seats.

The BJP hopes to win more than 20 seats from here: Mandya and Hassan’s districts have seven seats each. The BJP had won one seat each in these districts and the rest seats were held by the JD(S). The JD (S) party derives its core strength from these districts.

The arrival of Sumalatha is expected to change the calculations in the southern districts. The intensified campaigning by the MP will also help to consolidate the Vokkaliga vote bank, the saffron party is planning to project her as Vokkaliga’s face against Kumaraswamy and Congress President D.K. Shivakumar.

Meanwhile, the state Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that BJP will finalise its first list of candidates for the May 10 state Assembly polls on April 8. While interacting with reporters, Chief Minister Bommai said that the opinions of all the leaders have been taken and will be discussed in the state-level core committee meeting to be held in the next two days.

Then the Central Parliamentary Board meeting will take place on April 8 where the list will be finalised, he stated.

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