Bengaluru: Opposition leader R Ashoka was on Friday non-committal on BJP-backed Independent Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh getting re-nominated on the saffron party’s ticket.
“The BJP central leadership will decide about Mandya. We’ll abide by whatever they decide,” Ashoka said.
“Sumalatha is supporting the BJP government (at the Centre). If she wanted to join the party, she should have done that within six months of her election. She couldn’t due to various reasons. It was only last year that she extended her support (to BJP),” Ashoka pointed out.
The senior lawmaker expressed confidence that the BJP-JD(S) combine would win Mandya. “In the previous Assembly election, the BJP’s vote share in Mandya rose four times. Earlier, we used to get 5,000-10,000 votes. It went up to 45,000 votes. In the (2014) Lok Sabha election, (BJP) got more than two lakh votes. The JD(S) is strong there. So, with our strengths combined, the BJP or NDA candidate will win easily. There’s no doubt about that,” Ashoka explained.
(Published 08 March 2024, 20:52 IST)
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