16 candidates file nominations for LS polls in state on 2nd day
Bengaluru, Mar 20: Sumalatha Ambareesh, wife of late actor-politician Ambareesh, is among 16 candidates who filed their nominations in Karnataka Wednesday for the Lok Sabha polls.
A total of 17 nominations have been received from 16 candidates on Wednesday, poll officials said, adding that cumulative nominations received stands at 28 from 22 candidates.
Nominations filed were two each from Tumkur, Mandya, Bangalore North, Bangalore central, three each from Bangalore Rural and Mysore, and one each from Bangalore south and Chikkaballapur.
With all the three major political parties, the BJP, Congress and JD(S), yet to announce their list of candidates, those who filed nominations on Wednesday were mainly independents and from smaller parties.
Sumalatha filed her nomination as an independent candidate from Mandya, where she is likely to take on Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy as Congress-JD(S) coalition's candidate.
Sumalatha, a popular south Indian actress,visited the Chamundeshwari temple in Mysuru, ahead of filing nomination.
After filing the nomination, she travelled to a venue where a public meeting was organised in a procession in an open vehicle.
A large number of people, mainly Ambareesh's fans, irrespective of their party association, joined the procession.
She was accompanied by her actor son Abishek and personalities of Kannada film industry, including actors Darshan and Yash.
Some people, allegedly Congress workers, took part in the procession with party flag, despite the grand old party denying Sumalatha ticket and lending its support to alliance partner JD(S)' candidate Nikhil.
Addressing the gathering, Sumalatha, declaring that she was daughter-in-law of Mandya, sought support to carry forward her late husband's legacy and association with the people there.
She vowed to be the voice of the people of Mandya in Parliament.
Karnataka will go to the polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.
While the last date for the filing of nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls is on March 26, scrutiny will take place on March 27, last date for withdrawal is March29.
For the second phase polls on April 23, notification will be issued on March 28.
The last date for nomination is April 4, scrutiny on April 5 and the last day for withdrawal is April 8.
Counting of votes and announcement of results for both phases is scheduled for May 23.
In the 2014 general election, the BJP had bagged 17, Congress 9 and JD(S) two seats.
However in the bypolls, the BJP had yielded the Bellary seat to Congress.
The Congress-JD(S) ruling coalition that has decided to fight the polls in alliance will contest 20 and 8 seats respectively.
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Mamata asks TMC nominees not to leave counting centres as EC data shows BJP leading
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting centres, alleging that there was a "game plan" by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the saffron party taking a lead in the early trends of counting.
In a video message issued during the counting of votes, the TMC supremo appealed to party workers to stay put and not to lose morale.
"I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon counting centres," she said.
As trends on the Election Commission website indicated the BJP leading in 188 seats against the TMC's 94, Banerjee maintained that her party was still ahead in a significant number of constituencies.
"We are still ahead in 170 seats, but I request everyone not to lose hope," she said, adding that there were "around 70 to 100 seats where we are leading, but they are not sharing the data of those seats".
"A false narrative is being spread," she alleged.
The chief minister accused the Election Commission of "not declaring results or leads" in areas where the TMC was ahead.
"This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading," she said.
Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.
"In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies," she claimed.
She further alleged that TMC workers were being "harassed with the help of central forces" and that party offices were being "vandalised and forcefully captured".
"With the help of central forces, they are harassing and torturing AITC workers. Our offices have been vandalised," she said, also alleging that voter list revision exercises were "purposefully done to target seats where we were strong".
Seeking to reassure party workers, Banerjee said more rounds of counting were yet to take place and urged them to stay firm.
"Fourteen to eighteen rounds of counting will happen. You will surely emerge victorious. Don't be afraid; fight like tigers," she said.
Her remarks came as counting trends suggested that the BJP was leading in 188 seats and had crossed the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member assembly, pointing to a potential shift in the state's political landscape.
Counting for 293 constituencies was underway with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.
Officials cautioned that trends could change as more rounds are counted, and final results would be known later in the day.
জরুরি বার্তা pic.twitter.com/Uc82oihwEL
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 4, 2026
