'Believe in PM's leadership': MP Sumalatha extends support to BJP ahead of K'taka polls
Sumalatha Ambareesh, the Lok Sabha MP from Karnataka’s Mandya, has declared her support for the BJP in the upcoming Karnataka elections. Sumalatha has acted in more than 200 Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies.
Ending all speculations, actor-turned-politician Sumalatha Ambareesh announced that she will extend her support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka. Sumalatha is an independent MP from Karnataka's Mandya district.
"I extend my support to the BJP led by PM Narendra Modi. I believe in the leadership of PM Modi," she said.
The independent Lok Sabha MP, who has acted in more than 200 Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies, said she won't be able to join the BJP due to technical reasons but will support the party.
Sumalatha had called for a press meeting at her residence in Mandya ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the district on March 12.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sumalatha won the elections in Karnataka with the support of the BJP. She won the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency by defeating Nikhil Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular) in a bitterly contested election battle. The BJP didn’t field a candidate in 2019 for her seat, which helped her secure the win.
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Sumalatha is the wife of the late actor Ambareesh, who was a Member of Parliament from Mandya for the Congress between 1998 to 2009. He also served as a Union and state minister in his political career.
The JD(S) has a stronghold in Mandya district of Karnataka and it won all seven assembly seats in the district in the 2018 polls. Congress also enjoys considerable support in Mandya, but the BJP has struggled to maintain a foothold in the area.
Sumalatha campaigning for the BJP in the region will help the party.
Vokkaligas account for at least 15 per cent of Karnataka's population and are seen as the second-most influential vote bank in the state after the Lingayats. The region consists of districts such as Mandya, Mysuru, Hassan, Tumakuru, Chamarajanagar, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur.
On March 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Mandya district to dedicate the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway on March 12. He will hold a roadshow during his visit and the ruling BJP hopes to consolidate its position in the JD(S) bastion. The elections are due in Karnataka in April-May.
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