Mandya: Laddoos and jalebis were in full flow as loyalists of newly elected Mandya Independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh gathered to celebrate the stunning victory of the actress who trounced Nikhil Kumaraswamy, JD(S) candidate and son of the CM in a fiercely contested Lok Sabha poll.
No one could however match Narayan Kalal, a resident of Belagavi, and a huge fan of late Ambareesh, who came loaded with 4,500 kg of Dharwad Peda to be distributed among the people of Mandya for electing her.
Sumalatha exuded grace, calling for peace after a bitter Lok Sabha battle.
"Let us forget the past and make a good beginning for the development of Mandya", she declared at the function which also marked the 67th birth anniversary of her late husband M.H. Ambareesh.
Profusely thanking the lakhs of women voters, political workers, farmer organisations and common people who responded to her 'Swabhiman' call and voted for her, Sumalatha said her first priority was to protect the interests of farmers of Mandya for whom Cauvery river water was the lifeline.
"I am ready for a discussion on the development of Mandya if the eight JD(S) lawmakers of the district call me,” she said in an attempt to strike a conciliatory note vis-vis the JD(S) now that the polls are over. She also urged JD(S) legislators not to politicise the Cauvery row and favoured a united fight to find a permanent solution to water sharing with Tamil Nadu.
