Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (MS)
Bengaluru, Mar 18: South Indian multi-lingual actress Sumalatha, widow of late Karnataka Congress leader M H Ambareesh, on Monday announced her decision to contest the Lok Sabha election as an Independent from Mandya.
"People of Mandya had a lot of faith in Ambareesh. I want to take forward his vision for Mandya. I will be contesting the elections as an Independent from the constituency," Sumalatha told the media here.
Ambareesh, who passed away in November 2018, represented Mandya in the Lok Sabha.
Admitting that she was expecting Congress to field her from the Lok Sabha seat, Sumalatha remarked that the party did not fight for Mandya constituency from coalition partner Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S).
Speaking at the press conference in a private hotel of the city, Sumalata said, “I will contest as an independent candidate from Mandya, in order to upkeep the love and faith bestowed on late Ambareesh from the peope of the district.”
Sumalata, who got emotional thinking of her late husband Ambareesh, further said, “In life, we search and decide what we need to do. But sometimes, those moments come in search of us. Now such a time has come for me.
“I was devastated due to the death of Ambareesh. Though, all my family members and friends were with me at that time, I did not have peace of mind. I was not sure whether I will come out of that state of mind. When Ambareesh was alive his friends were with him 24x7. He never thought of himself or his family or house. However, after his death, some people went missing. However, at that time, fans of Ambareesh and people of Mandya came to me saying that “We are with you. You have to share your pain with us. Because we also feel the same pain due to the demise of Ambareesh.
“I knew how much people of Mandya loved Ambareesh. However, I never thought that after Ambareesh’s demise, the people will show the same love and affection me and Abhishek. I got some peace of mind at that time. Even we do not want to lose the love and faith of fans of Ambareesh. The fans of Ambareesh told me that this love will be there till we are alive. But you will speak to us and we will speak to you. However, we need your service also.”
“Ambareesh has lots of good deeds in his lifetime. You have to continue his work. You have to shoulder the responsibility of making his wishes come true,” said Sumalata quoting the words of fans of Ambareesh.
Sumalata said, “I am not a politician and I do not know anything about politics. I visited the district of Mandya and met people. I asked them as to what they want from me. All of them said only one thing that they do not want to lose the love that Ambareesh bestowed on them. They told me that if I can fill the void left by Ambareesh, it would be good for them also. So I called all my near ones and took their suggestion. But all said that the decision is left to me.
“I wanted to hear the voice of the fans of Ambareesh to retain the same love and faith that they had on him. Some people might not like my decision. For others it might be inconvenient. But I have taken this decision in order to preserve the love and faith the fans of Ambareesh have kept on him.
“Due to my decision, some relations and friendships have gone sore. But I took the decision not to keep anyone away. To take this step lots of self-confidence and courage is required. The people of Mandya have given the same to me.”
Sumalata’s son Abhishek, actors Yash, Darshan, Doddanna and Rockline Venkatesh were present.
As part of the seat-sharing agreement between the ruling allies, JD-S will contest from eight seats, including Mandya, while Congress will contest in the remaining 20 seats.
The JD-S, which currently holds the Mandya seat, announced that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil, 29, as its candidate from the seat.
(With IASN inputs)