LS polls: Denied ticket, Mandya MP Sumalatha asks supporters to wait until 3 April

Mandya sitting MP Sumalatha Ambareesh on Saturday said she would announce her decision on the upcoming elections on 3 April, given that she was not renominated and NDA constituents BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) decided to field H.D. Kumaraswamy from her constituency.

The multi-lingual actor-turned-politician convened a meeting of her supporters at her Bengaluru residence to decide her future course of action, given the change in the political scenario. Addressing her supporters, she said, “I will make my decision public at Mandya on 3 April because it is my duty to keep the voters of Mandya informed of any of my decisions.”

Sumalatha won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate with the BJP's backing, and defeated Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the grandson of former prime minister and JD (S) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda and son of former chief minister Kumaraswamy. However, the JD(S) is now a BJP ally, and Kumaraswamy will be contesting the election as the NDA candidate.

In an apparent bid to pacify Sumalatha, BJP state president and former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s son B.Y. Vijayendra called on her on Friday, but Sumalatha said she would consult her supporters on Saturday before taking a final call.

After the meeting with her supporters on Saturday, she told them that her political career had begun with their blessings. She also praised the fans of her late husband and eminent Kannada film actor-turned politician Ambareesh, who stood by her.

“I have people on the stage who have been supporting Ambareesh for the past 30 years. They shared their pain with me. They were those who gave me confidence to fight the election though I did not have any political experience,” Sumalatha said. “Though no big names were behind us except for a crowd of diehard fans of Ambareesh, the people of Mandya did not bother about it and supported me wholeheartedly.”

Sumalatha was expecting a BJP ticket and had met all the party's central leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J.P. Nadda, and Yediyurappa. However, the party decided to reserve the Mandya seat for its ally JD(S). Late on Friday, the JD(S) officially declared that Kumaraswamy will be their candidate.

BJP Karnataka in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, who first announced that the Mandya seat would be reserved for JD(S), said Sumalatha has a "bright future in politics". According to BJP sources, the party is likely to offer the Mandya MP a Rajya Sabha ticket.