Even though speculations are rife that Congress may field actor-turned-politician Ramya from Mandya Assembly constituency in 2018 Karnataka polls, chief minister Siddaramaiah’s wish is to field her from one of the 28 constituencies in Bengaluru.
An open-minded Siddaramaiah believes that fielding Ramya would add charisma to the campaign and will boost the morale of the workers in Bengaluru, particularly in the Bharatiya Janata Party-dominated constituencies.
Political pundits opine that shifting Ramya to Bengaluru is a better option for Congress as the Mandya is being represented by another actor-turned-politician M H Ambareesh.
Mr. Ambareesh is said to be keen to contest from Mandya, projecting himself as the “son of the soil”, though he declared, in filmy style after the meeting with the Chief Minister recently, that he “does not care whether a Soumya or a Ramya or a Suma” contests from the constituency.
Former MP Ramya, who heads the Congress’ social media outreach, lost in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Mandya. The fans of Ms Ramya still hold Mr Ambareesh camp responsible for this defeat. Both the stars, who have a similar trajectory in politics and belong to the same community, have been on a cold war in the heartland of Vokkaliga politics.
Various top Congress leaders are on a different page with regard to where Ms Ramya will contest from. According to D K Suresh, Bengaluru Rural MP, “Ramya has not sought ticket from Mandya, but the people in the constituency want Ramya to contest as she is active both in State and national politics.” On Ms Ramya renting a house in Mandya, he said it had nothing to do with her electoral ambitions.
Energy Minister D K Shivakumar has said that Ms Ramya would play “an active role in State politics”. She will contest either from Mandya or from Basavanagudi, he said, adding that she would be the “star campaigner” of the party for the coming polls in the State. Basavanagudi is considered as a BJP bastion in Bengaluru.
However, the party’s working president Dinesh Gundu Rao said Mr Ambareesh is the party’s senior leader and he plays an important role in decision-making. “There is no question of sidelining him, and the party high command will take a decision on whom to field in Mandya,” he said.
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