Bengaluru: Ms Sumalatha Ambareesh, widow of the late former minister, M H Ambareesh, who is giving Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy some anxious moments in Mandya, where his son, Nikhil is contesting from these Lok Sabha polls, has reportedly done a survey that gives her a win by a margin of 60,000 votes over him.
The booth-wise survey done by her supporters claims she will get a good lead in Maddur and Malavalli Assembly constituencies and be neck to neck with her nearest rival in Mandya, Nagamangala, Melukote, Srirangapatna, K R Pete and K R Nagar. It is believed she has a good chance of getting a handsome lead in Maddur as the late Ambareesh was from Doddarasinakere village in the taluk, and had a good fan following here.
Going by sources close to Ms Sumalatha, she is optimistic about getting a good response in Nagamangala and Srirangapata Assembly constituencies too due to the indirect support of defeated Congress legislators , N Cheluvarayaswamy and Ramesh Bandisiddegowda. Although they remained neutral, their followers are said to have actively campaigned for her in these parts.
JD(S) leaders, however, claim Nikhil could give her a tough fight in Mandya city, K R Pete and K R Nagar where ministers Sa Ra Mahesh, and C S Puttaraju and MLAm Chandrashekar campaigned hard for him The party can expect to gain some votes owing to its farm loan waiver scheme and revival of the Mandya sugar factory and the Pandavapura co-operative sugar factory, the lifeline of sugarcane growers of the district.
Ms Sumalatha’s claims could prove unsettling for Mr Kumaraswany who appears uncertain about his son’s chances, although his party’s first survey had hinted at his victory. With the media too predicting Ms Sumalatha’s victory, he has done another survey to guage people's mood in the constituency.
