Sumalatha Ambareesh who did not seek a re-election from Mandya parliamentary seat after being elected as an Independent in 2019, said here on Saturday that she will campaign in Mandya if the party asks her to do so.
Sumalatha campaigning or lack of it in Mandya has garnered interest among the public as she had a long-running feud with the Janata Dal (Secular) president and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy who is now contesting from Mandya while she has not entered the fray.
Though she was widely expected to seek re-election in continuation of the vitriolic feud with Mr. Kumaraswamy, the two have ostensibly sued for peace following the JD(S) allying with the BJP which surrendered Mandya to its alliance partner.
Besides, Sumalatha herself joined the BJP officially and though she was offered a BJP ticket from other constituencies including Chikkaballapura, she refused it on the grounds that she had a long standing association with the people of Mandya.
In reply to a question on whether she will campaign in favour of Mr.Kumaraswamy with whom she had a running feud, Ms. Sumalatha was ambivalent and repeated that she will campaign wherever her party wants her to do so.
“My gesture of vacating a seat that I had won amounts to extending my support,” she said without mentioning any names. “Not many are prepared to vacate a seat which has been won but I have done so,” she added. Ms. Ambareesh said as a BJP member she was bound to support the NDA candidate.
Reacting to the Hubballi incident in which a college girl was murdered, Ms. Sumalatha Ambareesh said that it was despicable that some social media posts are being judgmental about the victim.
She said the tendency to characterise an entire community for the crime committed by an individual was incorrect. But at the same time it was equally erroneous to prejudge the case before the investigations are completed, said Ms. Sumalatha.
On the issue of film star Darshan who earlier strongly backed Sumalatha but recently campaigned for the Congress, she said he was bound to campaign for those who have supported him.
“I had never asked Darshan to campaign for me but he did it on his own accord out of goodwill. I will not issue directives to him to campaign for or against anyone,” said Ms. Sumalatha.
She also took part and inaugurated the Nari Shakti convention organised by the BJP to drum up support for the party’s candidate Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar contesting from Mysuru Parliamentary seat and also work to ensure that BJP returns to power at the centre for the third time in a row.
