BENGALURU/HUBBALLI : The die is cast. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil will take on late actor-politician M H Ambareesh’s wife Sumalatha for the Mandya Lok Sabha seat in the upcoming general election. While Kumaraswamy and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda have already declared that Nikhil is the party’s official candidate, Congress leader Siddaramaiah too conceded on Tuesday that the Mandya seat will be contested by the JD(S) under the coalition arrangement.
This will leave little room for Sumalatha to manoeuvre who had been pinning hopes of contesting on a Congress ticket. Siddaramaiah told reporters in Hubballi that Congress will not claim the Mandya parliamentary seat, currently represented by JD(S), and hence the question of fielding Sumalatha does not arise. However, it is up to her to contest as an independent candidate, he said.
Sumalatha, who is banking on the sympathy factor, now has two options — either contest as an Independent or Congress rebel, and hope for outside support from BJP, or join the BJP. She has even begun preparations for creating publicity material. The BJP, which has about 2 lakh votes in this region, becomes an important player, especially for Sumalatha, who could gain from it. Either way, the Mandya battle promises to be a must-watch.
‘Not interested in B’luru South’
In the last election, actor-politician Ramya, who was sitting MP, had lost by a margin of just 5,000 votes. This, despite the fact that she had won the previous election by over 60,000 votes. The BJP candidate had polled about 2 lakh votes.A political watcher, who did not want to be named, said, “Even if Nikhil is the candidate, it is really Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy who are the real candidates. A tough candidate like Sumalatha will mean that JD(S) leaders are pinned down to Mandya, and will not be able to actively tour other parts of the state. This could be an advantage for the BJP.’’
‘Will speak to Ambi’s supporters’
Political analyst B S Murthy said, “People of Mandya district are emotional when it comes to voting. The district has voted for women who have contested after losing their husbands, at least on five occasions. Kalpana Siddaraju, wife of JD(S) MLA M S Siddaraju, won from Maddur in 2008, Vijaylakshmamma Bandisiddegowda, wife of former MLA A S Bandisiddegowda, won from Srirangapatna in 1994 and 2004. Parvathamma Srikantaiah, wife of A C Srikantaiah, won in 1999. Other such candidates too have won. Sumalatha is contesting after her popular husband Ambareesh’s untimely demise, and could get her share of sympathy votes.’’
Asked if she would consider Bengaluru South or any other seat, Sumalatha told TNIE, “I am not interested in contesting from Bangalore South, or aspiring for any position. I am not here for politics. It is not about coveting a position, I find such thoughts distasteful and I will not use the situation to get something else.’’
Asked whether she would file nomination papers, she said, “I will speak to (late) Ambareesh’s supporters and weigh all my options before I take a decision. I’m cool about it, not planning or plotting anything.’’
Sumalatha added, “The Congress party has a large local presence here. Congress leaders too want their party candidate to contest. Some fear that if they don’t contest, Congress will lose its identity for maybe 10 years.’’ Asked what comes first for her -- Congress party or her people -- her reply was on expected lines: “People first, of course.”
Gowda to strike deal with Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda will finalise seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls, in New Delhi on Wednesday. The JD(S) is demanding 12 of 28 LS seats in the state, and Gowda is likely to strike a hard bargain.