Suspense over the BJP-JD(S) combine’s nominee for the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency continues even as the Congress was relatively quicker off the mark by announcing Venkatarame Gowda, popularly known as ‘Star Chandru’, as its candidate for the Vokkaliga-dominated constituency.
Incumbent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh, who won as an Independent in 2019 but declared her support to the BJP ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, is making a strong pitch for the saffron party’s ticket. But, the BJP and the JD(S), which have teamed up for the Lok Sabha polls, are yet to finalise their seat-sharing arrangement.
While speculation is rife in political circles that Mandya is likely to be one of the four constituencies to be allocated to the JD(S), neither a formal announcement has been made nor has any clear indication emerged on the choice of the candidate. But, the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy or the former Minister C.S. Puttaraju are likely to be chosen as the candidate if the JD(S) bags Mandya during the seat-sharing talk.
Left high and dry
Ms. Ambareesh had clearly not expected to be in the good books of the JD(S) after she defeated Nikhil Kumaraswamy during the 2019 election when the regional party was in alliance with the Congress. After burning bridges with the Congress by aligning with the BJP during the Assembly election last year, Ms. Ambareesh found herself left high and dry when the saffron party joined hands with the JD(S), whose leadership had been repeatedly taking potshots at her style of functioning in Mandya.
Though she has met senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party national president J.P. Nadda and has been publicly expressing confidence about securing the BJP ticket to contest from Mandya again, she has revealed little about her plan B.
Meanwhile, a section of local leaders of the BJP in Mandya too had expressed their reservations over fielding Ms. Ambareesh. When BJP leaders, including Bharat Shetty, MLA, and the former MLA N. Mahesh visited Mandya as observers earlier this week to gather the opinion of local leaders, many preferred that the party retain Mandya during the seat-sharing talks and field a local partyman, who had built the BJP instead of Ms. Ambareesh, who they pointed out was yet to formally join the party.
Ms. Ambareesh’s candidature, however, was supported by the former Minister K.C. Narayana Gowda, a former JD(S) leader from Mandya, who also is uncomfortably with the BJP-JD(S) tie-up.
Off the mark
Meanwhile, Congress candidate Mr. Venkatarame Gowda, who is the brother of Independent MLA representing Gauribidanur H.K. Puttaswamy Gowda, is entering the poll fray for the first time. He had been assured of a ticket long before the formal announcement, after the former MP Ramya had failed to evince interest, and he had started his maiden election campaign.
Out of the eight Assembly segments in the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency, the Congress won six — Maddur, Mandya, Nagamangala, Srirangapatna, Malavalli, and K.R. Nagar — in the 2023 election, while the Sarvodaya Karnataka Party candidate Darshan Puttannaiah, who is supported by the Congress, bagged the Melkote Assembly seat and JD(S) leader H.T. Manju represents K.R. Pet segment.
