Not offered ticket, Mandya MP Sumalatha to announce decision on election on April 3
Bengaluru, Mar 30: Mandya sitting MP Sumalatha Ambareesh on Saturday said she would announce her decision on the upcoming election on April 3, given that she was not renominated and NDA constituents BJP and JD(S) decided to field H D Kumaraswamy from her constituency.
The multi-lingual film actress-turned-politician convened a meeting of her supporters at her Bengaluru residence to decide her future course of action, with the change in political scenario.
Addressing her supporters, she said, "I will make my decision public at Mandya on April 3 because it is my duty to keep the voters of Mandya informed about any of my decisions."
Sumalatha had won the 2019 Lok Sabha election as an independent candidate with the BJP's backing, and defeated Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the grandson of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and son of former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.
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However, the Janata Dal (Secular) is now BJP's ally, and Kumaraswamy will be contesting the election as the NDA candidate.
In order to pacify Sumalatha, BJP state President and Yediyurappa's son B Y Vijayendra called on her on Friday but Sumalatha said she would consult her supporters on Saturday before taking a final call.
After the meeting with her supporters on Saturday, she told them that her political career had begun with their blessings. She also praised the fans of her husband and eminent Kannada film actor-turned politician late Ambareesh, who stood by her.
"I have people on the stage who have been supporting Ambareesh for the past 30 years. They shared their pain with me. They were those who gave me confidence to fight the election though I did not have any political experience," Sumalatha said.
"Though no big names were behind us except for a crowd of diehard fans of Ambareesh, the people of Mandya did not bother about it and wholeheartedly supported me," the independent MP said.
Sumalatha was expecting a BJP ticket and had met all the BJP central leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President J P Nadda and former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
However, the party decided to reserve the Mandya seat for its ally JD(S). Late on Friday, the JD(S) officially declared that Kumaraswamy will be their candidate.
BJP Karnataka in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal who first announced that Mandya seat would be reserved for JD(S) said Sumalatha has a bright future in politics'.
According to BJP sources, the party is likely to offer the Mandya MP a Rajya Sabha ticket.
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Minor girl out with friend raped in MP forest; truck driver, associate held
Raisen (MP), Nov 24: A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a truck driver while his two associates restrained the teenager’s male friend in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district, an official said on Sunday.
Police have arrested two persons, including the truck driver, in connection with the alleged crime committed in Siyarmau forest on Silwani-Sagar Road, some 110 km from the district headquarters, on Saturday evening, he said.
The teenager and her 21-year-old male friend were returning after visiting the Vandevi temple in the area when they parked their two-wheeler and entered the forest, said Silwani’s Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anil Maurya.
At the same time, a truck broke down following which its driver, later identified as Sanju Adivasi (21), and his two friends also went inside the forest, where they spotted the girl and her friend.
The trio thrashed the young man and snatched the key of his motorcycle, he said, citing the FIR.
The driver took the girl deep inside the forest and allegedly raped her, while his associates restrained her friend, the official said.
After the three accused left, the girl and the youth walked to the road and alerted some policemen who were passing by.
Police registered a case against Sanju Adivasi and his associates Shivnarayan Advasi and Akshay Ahirwar under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 64 (rape), 70-1 (gang rape) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.
Sanju and Shivnarayan have been arrested, while Ahirwar is on the run, the official said.
