Sumalatha holds meet, says politics not spontaneous

Hectic activities marked the last day of public campaigning for the Lok Sabha election in the high-voltage Mandya segment, on Tuesday. Public campaigning in the constituencies slated to go for polls on April 18 came to an end at 6 pm.

Mandya wore a festive look on the last day of public campaigning. While Independent candidate A Sumalatha had organised a mega rally and a convention titled “Swabhimana Sammilana Samavesha,” in the city, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda took out roadshows in parts of the district, seeking support for his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy.

The convention was deemed to be a show of strength by Sumalatha, who is giving a tough fight to the Congress-JD(S) coalition candidate Nikhil. It may be mentioned that Sumalatha had organised a similar convention when she filed her nomination papers on March 20.

Sumalatha took out the rally accompanied by actors Darshan and Yash, and her son Abhishek. Thousands of enthusiatic supporters who took part in the rally showered flowers on them. Folk art troupes accompanied the rally, adding a local touch to the event.

The rally ended at Silver Jubilee Park, where a mega convention was held. Actors Darshan and Yash spoke on the occasion, appealing the voters to choose Sumalatha for the development of district.

“Entering politics was not a spontaneous decision. It was taken after understanding the affection of the people of Mandya. I chose to forget the sorrow of losing Ambareesh through the people here. I knew that the decision would affect the friendship of a few here,” Sumalatha said.

She said the opponents backed by eight MLAs were hurling abuses and attacking her for contesting against their wish. “AICC president Rahul Gandhi and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu too were brought for the campaign against me,” she said.

Sumalatha thanked the Raitha Sangha members, Congress workers, who stood by her despite facing action by the party and also JD(S) workers with ‘self-respect’. She spoke a few words in Hindi to attract the minority community people.