Karnataka - Mysore   

Ambareesh keeps Congress guessing

M.H. Ambareesh

Mysore: While the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party have almost finalised their candidates for the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency, the Congress leadership is keeping its fingers crossed, as Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting M.H. Ambareesh is yet to reveal his plans.

The BJP will field D.C. Thammanna, who lost the Maddur Assembly byelection to Janata Dal (S) candidate Kalpana Siddaraju.

The Janata Dal (S) has hinted at fielding the former Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy from Mandya, considered to be the Vokkaliga heartland.

Though Mr. Ambareesh is the first choice of the Congress, the party is trying to zero in on another candidate also, just in case the actor-turned-politician refuses to contest the election.

Mr. Ambareesh has been representing constituency since 1998 when he, as the Janata Dal (S) candidate, defeated the Congress’s G. Made Gowda.

He later joined the Congress and, in the 1999 elections, he defeated Krishna of the Janata Dal (S). In 2004, he won from the constituency for the third time.

He submitted his resignation from the Union Council of Ministers in February 2007 protesting against what he described as the “injustice” done to Karnataka by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in its final award. The resignation was not accepted.

In the Assembly elections held last year, Mr. Ambareesh contested from Srirangapatna Assembly constituency and lost to Ramesh Bandisidde Gowda of the Janata Dal (S) by a margin of 5,160 votes.

Depressed by the loss, he has often spoken of quitting active politics and did not campaign for the Congress candidate in the Maddur byelection held recently.

He has not participated in any of the official programmes of the Congress.

Recently, when presspersons asked whether he would contest from Mandya in the coming election, he said he would disclose his next political move at the right time.

There were rumours about him joining the Janata Dal (S) after his meeting with the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. But he said there was no need to give importance to the meeting. Reiterating his loyalty to the Congress, Mr. Ambareesh said he would remain with the Congress forever.

This has raised the hopes of Congress workers and leaders in Mandya district. Congress sources said that Mr. Ambareesh’s statement had boosted the morale of the party, which was shattered after dismal performance in the Maddur byelection.

In case Mr. Ambareesh refuses to contest the Lok Sabha election, the Congress may field either the former MLA L.R. Shivarame Gowda or the former Minister M.S. Atmananda, sources disclosed.

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