Ambi arrival: Congress rejuvenated, JD(S) camp also elated

The leaders and party workers in the Mandya Lok Sabha unit of the Congress have been rejuvenated due to the latest ‘homecoming’ of District in-charge Minister Ambarish (on Saturday) as well as the public meeting held on Monday at Mandya city, attended by KPCC president Dr Parameshwara, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former chief minister S M Krishna, a few Union and State ministers as well as several local leaders.

However, the leaders in the Janata Dal (Secular) are also an elated lot as Ambarish has restricted himself to only these two events, which have been touted as his ‘show of strength’.

A JD(S) leader, who was with the Congress earlier, preferring anonymity, said, it was not a show of strength for either the JD(S) or the BJP, but for his own party men.

Immediately after returning to Bangalore, following illness, for which he was treated in a foreign country, Ambarish took a dig at the party candidate candidate Ramya that her mode of connecting with the people via Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp did not suit the people of Mandya. 

Underestimation

The JD(S) leader said, Ambarish is not only underestimating Ramya, but the people of Mandya, who are inferior to none in using either technology or gadgets.

Mandians have gone places. They are serving various nations across the globe, out of sheer ability. Even those residing in villages of Mandya district use high-end smart phones, he said.

“Our candidate C S Puttaraju was a close associate of both Ambarish as well as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He has friends in all political parties. He is as able as Ramya, who can speak six languages as stated by Siddaramaiah. He also uses technology well,” the leader said.

The Boss

A KPCC member, said, Ambarish’s claim that he had advised Ramya to visit 1,200 villages personally, immediately after her election as MP, is only to send a message that he was the ‘boss’.

“Why did he not advise the same to his candidates for Srirangapatna and Melkote Assembly constituencies, who fared badly in the polls? It has to be recalled that Srirangapatna candidate S L Lingaraju secured just 27,000 votes, while his Melkote counterpart L D Ravi could garner only 2,700 votes,” the member said.

Pointing out that it was the same Lingaraju’s son-in-law Sachidananda, whom Ambarish had mentioned that Ramya should have taken along to the Deputy Commissioner’s office to file her nomination papers, the member said: “Let Ambarish disclose how many times he has visited the district, including his visits to his supporter Amaravathi Chandrasekhar’s house, since he was elected MLA last year.”

Another Congress leader, who is identified with the S M Krishna camp, said, there was no Krishna faction in the district. “The former chief minister does not encourage such divisive politics. It is only a section of the party members, who do not approve of the authoritarian attitude of either Ambarish or his coterie. 

If at all Ramya loses the election, it will be due to Ambarish,” the leader said.

A woman office-bearer in the district Congress said, all prominent men in the party feared Ramya. “They fear, if Ramya gets re-elected, there will be nobody to stop her.

They think that she has good relationship with the High Command, so they will be at her mercy to get their tickets in future,” she explained.