Concerned about her seat being given to JD (S), MP Sumalatha Ambareesh to meet K’taka BJP President
Bengaluru: Concerned over the development that the BJP is making a decision to give Mandya Parliamentary seat to its alliance partner JD (S) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh will soon meet Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra in a day or two to discuss the matter, sources said.
Sources confirmed that the decision was already made by the BJP to field a JD (S) candidate from the Mandya seat which is currently represented by Ambareesh.
Ambareesh won with a whopping margin against former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy in the last Lok Sabha elections. Then, BJP supported Ambaeesh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to people to vote for her in the campaign. She had supported BJP but with the latest development, her followers are forcing her to contest as an independent candidate in the upcoming polls, sources explained.
Ambareesh is likely to demand a ticket for the Mandya Lok Sabha seat from Vijayendra and party leadership. On the other hand, Congress, which is searching for a winning candidate, has planned to pull her into the party and make her its candidate.
Mandya is considered the heartland of the influential Vokkaliga community and JD (S) derives its core strength from the region. However, Ambareesh was able to emerge victorious, beating JD (S) on its own turf. The Vokkaliga community has special affection towards her husband, the late Kannada superstar Ambareesh.
If Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Ambareesh join hands, it might upset the calculations of JD (S) and BJP to sweep the Vokkaliga votes in south Karnataka. Knowing well, BJP and JD (S) are treading carefully and are confident of assuaging Ambareesh.