Mandya MP Sumalatha inches closer to BJP; grand entry soon?

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: Mandya Lok Sabha member Sumalatha Ambareesh is likely to join the BJP in the coming weeks to provide a niche for the saffron party in a district dominated by the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular).

In the 2019 general elections, she won as an independent candidate for the first time in the history of Mandya defeating Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of then Chief Minister H.D.Kumaraswamy, despite a joint campaign by the Congress and JD(S).

The support given by the people of Mandya to Sumalatha thanks to the goodwill earned by her late husband, M.H.Ambareesh, helped her trounce Nikhil by over one lakh votes.

In recent months, the support base of the JD(S) is on the decline because of the rigorous campaign by Congress leaders. With 12-13 months left for the next general elections, Sumalatha has to choose whether to contest as an Independent candidate in the coming Lok Sabha polls from Mandya or switch over to state politics.

Her efforts to enter the Congress Party were reportedly rejected by KPCC President D.K.Shivakumar due to opposition from former legislators of Mandya. So her next choice is the BJP which is yet to open its account in the Assembly from Mandya.

The top brass of the BJP has reportedly given her the option of picking any seat of her choice and also for her son, Abhishek Ambareesh. The BJP has offered him Maddur, currently held by a close relative of Ambareesh, D.C.Thammanna who has declined to contest in the coming Assembly polls.