The Mandya constituency in southern Karnataka has garnered limelight after Sumalatha Ambareesh, wife of late Congress leader and Kannada movie icon M H Ambareesh, announced on Monday that she would contest as an independent candidate. Her decision came after the Congress denied her ticket as the seat was already allocated to its ruling partner, the Janata Dal (Secular) which is likely to field Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, as the coalition's candidate.
Speculations have run rife since then that the actor-politician may get the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party, especially after her meeting with former chief minister S M Krishna.
On Wednesday, BJP veteran B S Yeddyurappa dropped enough hints at the party supporting the actor in the elections. “The BJP will contest all 28 seats. However, public sentiment is that support should be extended to Sumalatha,” Yeddyurappa told the Deccan Herald newspaper.
Yeddyurappa's comments came in contrast to his party colleague K S Eshwarappa, who had earlier ruled out any possibility of the party supporting Sumalatha. "When I said that we are fielding a candidate in Mandya, what should it mean? We will not back stab our candidate by supporting any other person," Eshwarappa had said.
However, the PTI quoted sources in the BJP as saying that the party decided to field a candidate in Mandya as a precautionary measure. On Wednesday, Yeddyurappa, too, seemed endorsing that report. He said the party was at liberty to withdraw candidates in the last minute.
“These are special circumstances. When the ‘appa makkalu’’ (JD(S) leaderH D Deve Gowda and his sons) are desperately trying to grab seats by fielding all of their family members and public opinion is that they should be taught a lesson, then we will take that into serious consideration,” Yeddyurappa told the paper.
On her part, Sumalatha also hopes that a section of Congress and BJP leaders would support her.
"I have been reading in the media about some BJP and Congress leaders willing to extend support to me. I hope I will get their support because Ambareesh was an apolitical being and he was loved by almost all political parties," she told media while announcing her candidature.
The New Indian Express reported that thousands of Congress workers turned up to express their solidarity with Sumalatha on Wednesday. “I am ready to face any action taken by the high command. But, I owe my loyalty to Sumalatha,” the paper quoted a Congress functionary as saying.
Several Congress leaders were also on the dais when Sumalatha later addressed a public meeting.
(This story was first published in The Week)