Sumalatha to make her stand clear on contesting LS elections tomorrow
Bengaluru, Apr 2: Independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh has said she will make her decision on contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections public at Kalikamba Temple in the district headquarter town of Mandya on Wednesday.
In a long post on the micro-blogging site 'X' on Tuesday, the actress-turned-politician who won 2019 elections with BJP's backing from Mandya, asked people to gather at the temple on Wednesday.
"Many are waiting for my stance on contesting elections. Serious thought has already been given in this regard. Neither your favorite 'Rebel Star' Ambareesh nor myself or anyone from our family are ever clinging to power," Sumalatha said.
She said she will discuss with her voters before taking a final call.
"Tomorrow (April 3) at 10 AM in the Kalikamba Temple, I will offer pooja, then in the temple premises I will clarify my stand before all of you and announce my decision regarding the Mandya Lok Sabha elections," the wife of eminent Kannada actor-turned-politician late Ambareesh, said.
She said her son Abhishek Ambareesh and Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa will be present when she will make her decision public.
Thursday is the last day of filing nomination papers for the first phase of polls in Karnataka, where polling will be held in 14 constituencies on April 26. For the second phase, polling in the remaining 14 constituencies will take place on May 7.
The BJP and its ally Janata Dal (Secular) had requested her not to contest the election this time assuring her a 'bright political future.'
JD(S) second-in-command and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy is contesting as the NDA candidate this time from Mandya, which is considered as his party’s fortress.
Sumalatha had won the 2019 Assembly election defeating former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda's grandson and Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy.
ನನ್ನ ಸ್ವಾಭಿಮಾನಿ ಮಂಡ್ಯದ ಬಂಧುಗಳೆ,
— Sumalatha Ambareesh 🇮🇳 ಸುಮಲತಾ ಅಂಬರೀಶ್ (@sumalathaA) April 2, 2024
ಮಂಡ್ಯ ಲೋಕಸಭಾ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಕಳೆದ ಬಾರಿ ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಗೆಲುವು ಸಾಧಿಸಿದ ನಂತರ, ಈ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಆಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಈ ಸಲದ ಲೋಕಸಭೆ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯೂ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊರತಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಪಲ್ಲಟಕ್ಕೆ ಮಂಡ್ಯ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿಯಾಗಿದೆ.
ಚುನಾವಣೆಗೆ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಸುವ… pic.twitter.com/65Wte90LWJ
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First direct US-Venezuela commercial flight in 7 years to land in Caracas
Caracas (Venezuela) (AP): The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela is scheduled to land on Thursday in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, seven years after the US Department of Homeland Security ordered an indefinite suspension, citing security concerns.
The resumption of a commercial flight between the two countries comes in the wake of the US capture of Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, in early January.
It also comes a month after the US formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country.
Flight AA3599 operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, was scheduled to depart from Miami at 10:16 a.m. local time and arrive three hours later in the Venezuelan capital, returning to Florida later in the afternoon.
Earlier, the airline said a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will start on May 21.
In late January, US President Donald Trump said he informed Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez that he would open up all commercial airspace over Venezuela, allowing Americans to visit.
“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they'll be safe there,” Trump said at the time.
The flights mark the resumption of nonstop travel between the US and Venezuela for the first time since diplomatic ties were severed in 2019. For the past seven years, passengers have relied on international airlines and indirect routes through neighbouring Latin American countries.
In January, when the airline announced the resumption of flights it said it would give customers the opportunity to reunite with families and pursue new business opportunities.
American Airlines was the last US airline flying to Venezuela. It suspended flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as flights to the oil hub city of Maracaibo. Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a political crisis that forced millions to flee the country.
