BENGALURU: Rebel star Ambareesh has added to the woes of Congress, which is facing rebellion in many constituencies. The actor-turned-politician has put the party in a fix as he is said to have set some tough conditions to accept the ticket (B form) to contest from Mandya.
The former minister and the strongman of Mandya is determined to bat for his pride. The Mandyada Gandu (man from Mandya) is in no mood to forget the “insult” he had to bear after he was dropped from the ministry by Siddaramaiah in June 2016. He has refused to accept the ‘B’ form unless his demands or conditions are accepted.
Ambareesh has turned assertive to prove a point to the party leadership on his stature and future role in the party and Mandya politics. Mandya district has seven Assembly segments and Ambareesh’s word could affect the result in most of these seats.
“I am not a minnow who could be used and thrown according to the whim and fancy of some one,” Ambareesh is reported to have said when party leaders approached him with the ticket. Ambareesh is also unhappy with the party leadership over the issue of admitting JD(S) rebel MLA Cheluvarayaswamy. Cheluvarayaswamy has been given a Congress ticket to contest from Nagamangala constituency in Mandya district.
Ambareesh also felt insulted when the party inducted Cheluvarayaswamy into Congress without taking Ambareesh into confidence, it is said.
Bengaluru Development Minister K J George, who met Ambareesh at the latter’s residence on Wednesday on the instructions of KPCC President G Parameshwara and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, failed to convince him to file the nomination papers.
Ambareesh is said to be demanding the party leadership to make him in-charge of Congress campaign for Mandya district, assure him of a berth in the cabinet and make him the district in-charge minister if the party is voted back to power. He is also said to have raised issues about his campaign expenditure. AICC general secretary in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka K C Venugopal is likely to meet him personally to resolve the issue.
The fact that the leadership of JD(S) and BJP are aggressively wooing Ambareesh has further raised the anxiety level in Congress camp.
Expressing confidence about resolving the issue, Parameshwara has ruled out any possibility of change of candidate in Mandya. “Ambareesh is our candidate for Mandya. We have special affection for him,” he said.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Mandya Congress met Ambareesh in Bengaluru on Thursday and pleaded with him to come to Mandya and file his nomination papers.