As PM Modi unveils projects for Mandya today, a bonus for party: Sumalatha’s support

“I will still be an Independent MP till my term ends, but my full support will be for the BJP. If they tell me that I am absolutely required for a constituency in the state, then there could be a change of decision to move away from being an MP. This position has not been reached,” she said at a press briefing in Mandya.

My decision in supporting @BJP4India comes in the wake of the need for the overall development of my constituency; Mandya, and also the trust in the leadership of @PMOIndia Sri @narendramodi ji whose leadership has been accepted not just in India but applauded globally too https://t.co/VwMT30ubmD

— Sumalatha Ambareesh 🇮🇳 ಸುಮಲತಾ ಅಂಬರೀಶ್ (@sumalathaA) March 11, 2023

However, Sumalatha’s decision to back the BJP is not very surprising for Mandya and Karnataka politics. Although she has never spoken in the vocabulary of the political right-wing in Karnataka — a language that does not cut much ice in the rustic, feudal politics of the Mandya region — the actress-turned-politician has been seen as a keen supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Among the key political reasons for Sumalatha to express her support for the BJP two days ahead of a visit to Mandya by PM Modi are reportedly ambitions for a role in state politics for herself (in the short term) and for her actor son Abhishek Ambareesh (in the long term). The BJP’s desperation for local leaders of substance means she is a good fit for the party.

The Congress, on the other hand, is packed with local leaders, who would be unwilling to cede ground in state politics to Sumalatha or her son. Local sources say Sumalatha initially knocked on the doors of local Congress leaders, but was told to bide her time, driving her to the BJP in what is seen as a mutually viable arrangement.

Apart from the fact that the JD(S) too has enough local leaders making Sumalatha entry difficult, the party high command is yet to put behind the rancour of the 2019 Mandya loss to her. She had defeated actor Nikhil Kumaraswamy, Deve Gowda’s grandson and the son of former CM H D Kumaraswamy – in what the Deve Gowdas consider their backyard.

Sumalatha brings much to the BJP table, including admiration in Mandya for the way she stood by Ambareesh through his ups and downs, including illnesses that required long hospitalisation. In fact, attempts by the JD(S) to malign Sumalatha over the death of her husband in 2018 were one of the factors that went against the party, especially among the women voters in Mandya.

As a politician, she is seen as a sensible voice. However, Sumalatha has lost a lot of political ground since the Covid pandemic began, when was deemed as having confined herself to the luxury of her home in Bengaluru. She has since made a comeback raising issues of illegal mining in Mandya and possible damage to the historic KRS Dam in the region.

On Friday, Sumalatha hinted at being abused and attacked by local MLAs for her stand on illegal missing. The JD(S) holds all seven Assembly seats in the Mandya district.

“What I want to say is that Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh will quit politics but will never discard her self-respect. There are constant questions asked about whether I will contest from Bengaluru or some other region. I want to say one thing — even if I have to take my last breath, I will not quit Mandya,” Sumalatha said, standing in front of giant pictures of Ambareesh.

“I am not in Mandya only because of politics. My relationship with Mandya is not determined by politics. There is a much deeper relationship, which some people cannot understand. The common man understands it and it is time for others to understand,” she added, going on to say that she will take a call on whether to enter state politics after discussions.

“I have declared that I will support a party (the BJP) and I will adhere to the alliance,” she said.

There are also practical reasons for Sumalatha not taking the plunge just yet. She could be disqualified under the anti-defection law since the window for an Independent to align with a political party ends six months after the polls.

But nothing stops her from being the BJP poll campaign trump card in south Karnataka for the coming polls. The BJP has experimented with several local leaders from the Vokkaliga community — which is dominant in the Mandya region and surrounding districts of Old Mysore — but has not been able to find anyone with the kind of credence and political standing that is enjoyed by Vokkaliga leaders like Deve Gowda and S M Krishna.

Incidentally, one of the persons Sumalatha met before announcing her decision to support the BJP was Krishna, a former Congress CM and Union minister who hails from Mandya and is now associated with the BJP.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai welcomed Sumalatha’s support for the BJP, admitting it will be boost for the party in Mandya. “Sumalatha has been supporting the programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi such as roads, highways, railway projects, and schemes for farmers, and women both inside Parliament and outside,” he said.

On Sunday, as Modi inaugurates a slew of projects for the Mandya region — including a 10-lane Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway – one of the prominent guests would be Sumalatha.