Karnataka   

Umashree has many advantages

INSTANT HIT: Umashree

MARAPUR (BAGALKOT DISTRICT): The 45-year-old Sangamma Patil, a mother of four, waited with bated breath to get a glimpse of popular theatre personality and Kannada film actor Umashree, who with her inimitable style of acting and impeccable dialogue delivery has captivated the theatre crazy people of Bijapur and Bagalkot districts.

Ms. Umashree has also created ripples in political circles with her no-holds-barred campaign in the new Terdal Assembly constituency, dominated by the weavers and Kuruba community. She is an instant hit with the electorate and her amiable approach of reaching out to the people in the remotest villages has added several thousands in her admirers list. “I have heard the beautiful captivating voice of Ms. Umashree in dramas such as Khanavali Chenni, Bus Conductor, Goudara Gaddala through cassettes, and it is for the first time I am seeing her,” said Babu Mia, a farmer in the village. Braving the scorching sun and the restrictions imposed by the Election Commission on the campaign, Ms. Umashree, in a short period of five days has covered more than 50 per cent of the constituency.

She said, “I will cover the rest of the constituency before polling day.” Taking a short break from her hectic door-to-door campaigning in the village, Ms. Umashree spent a few minutes sharing her experiences with The Hindu.

“I am overwhelmed by the love and affection of the people of the constituency. Initially, there was some anger over my selection as a candidate of the Congress, but now that is no more. All the leaders in the constituency are working in unison to ensure victory for the Congress,” she said.

The Terdal constituency is an urban-oriented constituency with just 26 villages coming under it. Most of the urban constituencies, including Rabkavi, Terdal, Bannahatti, Mahalingapur, are major weaving centres. This has helped Ms. Umashree, with her cinema connection and identity with the people.

Ms. Umashree, who is known for taking up women’s issues and seeking a better say for the women within the Congress, says that she would work towards bringing commercial sex workers to the mainstream. Bagalkot and other areas coming under the Terdal constituency are infamous for the high concentration of commercial sex workers and have also been declared as a high endemic area for HIV and AIDS.

Ms. Umashree has said that she would consciously work towards providing sex workers with alternative employment avenues to make them acceptable to society.

Asked whether her stint in cinema is helping her, she said: “I have spent the majority of my years in theatre and cinema and this has helped me in getting the recognition among the voters. It will help me win.”

Ms. Umashree knows that defeating the BJP candidate Siddu Savadi, a former MLA, from neighbouring Jamkhandi Assembly constituency, will not be easy. She is hoping that being the only woman candidate in the entire district from the Congress, would help her. Another advantage in her favour is that she belongs to the weavers’ community.

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