Sumalatha hints at contesting from Mandya seat

Sumalatha, the wife of late actor-turned-politician Ambareesh, said on Friday she would consider contesting as the grand old party’s candidate from the Mandya Lok Sabha seat.

A large group of Ambareesh fans gathered at his house to petition Sumalatha to contest the upcoming polls from Mandya, a seat that late actor represented thrice in the past.

“His (Ambareesh’s) relationship with the people of Mandya shouldn’t be forgotten. That’s why his fans and party workers have been requesting me the past two months. I don’t want the love Ambareesh earned to be lost,” Sumalatha told reporters. “I’ll ask the people of Mandya and I will decide as per that. I had no interest in politics. And if at all I decide to enter politics, it’ll be from Mandya,” she said.

Sumalatha said she needed time to decide.

“I need time to think about this. I need to take the advice of (Congress) seniors and leaders. Ambareesh’s identity...whatever he was or did...was with the Congress. At the same time, I don’t want to disappoint you (fans),” she said. “There’s so much to electoral politics. I need to weigh in on everything.”

Mandya is located in the Vokkaliga heartland where the JD(S) claims to hold sway. The Mandya seat is currently represented by the JD(S). The regional party is reportedly planning to field Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil this time. The Congress and the JD(S) have a chequered rivalry here.

A section of Ambareesh’s fans urged Sumalatha to contest as an independent candidate if not on a Congress ticket.