BANGALORE: Housing Minister M H Ambareesh sharply reacted to reports that defeated Lok Sabha member Ramya would be inducted into Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet after being made an MLC.
After Siddaramaiah presented a report card of his one year in office, Ambareesh spoke to reporters. “Let her be made a chief minister, why just a minister?” he said with a wry smile.
Reacting to the Congress’ drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls in Mandya, Ambareesh said people win and lose in elections. An election is like a gamble, he said adding that Ramya could win in the next election.
Denying suggestions that the party did not work as a unit in Mandya, Ambareesh said: “Despite the strong Narendra Modi wave across the country, we have ensured that the BJP did not get a deposit in Mandya. Does this not indicate that we have worked as a unit?”
Ambareesh, who is also the district in-charge minister of Mandya, denied reports that he is responsible for Ramya’s defeat. Ramya lost to JD (S) candidate C S Puttaraju by 5,000 votes.
On Her Defeat
When asked about her defeat, Ramya said, “I’ve never complained in the past and I won’t do that now either. I’m not going to introspect. Everybody has done their best for me. I accept the results. I don’t want to think about what has happened. I just want to move on.”