Bengaluru: One of the high-profile Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, Mandya, witnessed an 80.59% voter turnout in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. In this constituency, former CM HD Kumaraswamy contested against Congress party’s Venkatramane Gowda, popularly known as Star Chandru. Though voting for this constituency completed, what was missing was the support of current MP Sumalatha Ambareesh for BJP and JD(S) alliance candidate HD Kumaraswamy.
Both Sumalatha Ambareesh and HD Kumaraswamy blamed each other for Sumalatha’s absence in the poll campaign. Sumalatha, who won from the Mandya constituency as an independent, recently joined BJP and was not seen campaigning for the NDA candidate.
Speaking to reporters, Sumalatha said that the JD(S) party did not invite her for campaigning in the Mandya constituency. She mentioned that some JD(S) leaders considered her unnecessary for winning the election and claimed that no one approached her after Kumaraswamy visited her house.
Reacting to Sumalatha’s allegation, Kumaraswamy said that he himself met her and sought her support to win the election in Mandya. He asked what else she required.
In the 2019 general elections, Sumalatha defeated Nikhil, son of Kumaraswamy. With the BJP’s alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka, the Mandya seat was allocated to former CM HD Kumaraswamy.
