Independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh on Friday extended her full support to the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Center ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mandya for the inauguration of the 10-lane Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway. The actor-turned-politician, who has been a neutral parliamentarian till now, also said that the decision was taken in view of the stability given to India and the prestige India earned across the world under Modi’s leadership.
Sumalatha, who represents the Mandya constituency in the Lok Sabha, also promised that her son Abhishek will never enter politics as long as she is in politics, as she is against dynastic politics. “After consulting my well-wishers and supporters, I have arrived at a decision. On this day, I am extending my full support to the Narendra Modi government at the Centre,” the wife of late Kannada actor Ambareesh said at a press conference here. , He said that after four years as an independent MP and facing many challenges, especially obstacles in holding public meetings, he felt he needed an endorsement.
“People can draw their own conclusions, but I have faith in the leadership of Narendra Modi, who is admired across the world,” Sumalatha said. Expressway.
The MP said, “The prime minister could have chosen to inaugurate it in Mysuru or Bengaluru, but he chose Mandya, which shows the importance of the district.” The MP clarified that this step has been taken with the aim of overall development of Mandya which according to him is suffering from poor environment. In an apparent attack on the JD(S), Sumalatha criticized those who have turned Mandya into their political bastion and done nothing for the district.
Sumalatha said, “There is a need for change in Mandya. A bad atmosphere has been created here. Let’s first run the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ here in Mandya.”
The decision has come just two days before Modi’s visit to the district. The BJP had supported the MP during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, which resulted in his victory by defeating Nikhil, son of chief minister HD Kumaraswamy. Sumalatha was in touch with the BJP leadership for almost a year and several rounds of talks have been held with her for the last few days.
On Thursday too, he had a long discussion with BJP national president JP Nadda when he was in Bengaluru as part of his ‘Vijaya Sankalp Yatra’. It was clear that she would join the BJP, but everyone was curious to know what would be the terms and conditions of her joining the saffron party. Speculations were rife that she would seek ticket for her son Abhishek from a safe constituency in the upcoming assembly elections. There were also rumors that she would contest from Bengaluru. However, the MP rejected both the possibilities.
Sumalatha also promised that as long as she is in politics, her son Abhishek will never enter politics. She said, “I will not promote dynastic politics. As long as I am in politics, my son will not enter this profession. I take this oath of Goddess Chamundeshwari (Goddess of Mysore).” Hitting out at the JD(S) and other political parties where families are promoted, she said she was not one to drag every family member into politics “as some people do”.
The MP said, ‘I did not enter politics when Ambareesh was alive. As long as I am in this field, my son will not enter politics. On the possibility of him contesting from Bengaluru, the MP said his family has always been committed to Mandya and there is no such possibility of moving out.
Sumalatha said, “I would rather leave politics than compromise with my self-respect. I would rather leave this world than Mandya.”
The MP made it clear that she has not joined politics to earn money as others do, but to bring a change in the district and make life better here. Sumalatha said, however, that scathing comments against her and the obstacles she faced in carrying out her tasks prompted her to seek support. The MP said, “This step is not about Sumalatha’s future but Mandya’s future. I have to take a step in this direction.”
He also said that the decision was necessary keeping in mind the future of his supporters. Sumalatha also informed the gathering about the various works done by her in the last four years and rejected the allegations that she was not active and was not meeting people.
Multilingual film actress who was born in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, worked in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. Her husband Ambareesh, who passed away in November 2018, was also an actor-turned-politician. After his death, he contested the Lok Sabha elections from Mandya and defeated Nikhil Kumaraswamy, grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and son of former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.