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Actress clears air: Will contest only from Mandya

She offered special prayers to Sri Kalabhairaveshwara-the presiding deity of the matha.

Bengaluru: Making her intentions loud and clear, Ms Sumalatha Ambarish, wife of former minister late M.H. Ambarish said if she contests in the coming Lok Sabha polls, it will be on the Congress ticket from Mandya, a seat represented by her husband two times.

Till recently, she was said to be in two minds on her entry into politics but there has been a lot of pressure from Ambarish's fans on her to contest from Mandya.

On Sunday, Ms Sumalatha paid a surprise visit to Adichunchanagiri matha in Nagamangala taluk of Mandya district to seek the blessings of Nirmalananda Swamy. She was accompanied by her son Abhishek Gowda and noted Kannada film producer Rockline Venkatesh.

She offered special prayers to Sri Kalabhairaveshwara-the presiding deity of the matha. Me Sumalatha's visit to the matha gains special significance at a time when Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has plans to launch his son, Mr Nikhil Kumaraswamy by making him contest from Mandya in the LS polls.

Talking to reporters, Ms Sumalatha clarified that her late husband did not have intentions of bringing his family into politics. But, his sudden demise and constant pressure from his fans had made her think of plunging into politics. " I am not a seasonal politician. Well-wishers of my husband want me to contest from Mandya- the karma bhumi of the 'Mandyada Gandu'. Since my husband had been associated with the Congress party I want to contest on the Congress ticket and only from Mandya Lok Sabha constituency. I will not contest from any other constituency and on the ticket of any other party".Replying to a question, she said she was yet to make up her mind and was holding consultations with her friends and well-wishers before taking a final call for her debut into politics

"I was supposed to come here two months ago but it didn't happen due to some reason. The teaser of my son 's debut Kannada movie Amar is slated to be released on Feb 14. So, I am here to seek the seer's blessing. I haven't discussed any politics with the seer", she added.

Ms Sumalatha refused to comment when her attention was drawn to Janata Dal (Secular) MLC K.T. Srikantegowda statement that she was not a 'Gowdati ' of Mandya.

Sunday's statement by Ms Sumalatha is likely to create a flutter in the JD(S) camp since it wanted the Mandya seat for itself to bring Mr Nikhil into politics.

State JD(S) President A.H. Vishwanath told Deccan Chronicle that the Mandya seat was reserved for his party and it would not be given to the Congress party at any cost.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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