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New Delhi: On Friday, ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Member of Parliament representing Mandya, Sumalatha Ambareesh made a significant political move by announcing her decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She joined the BJP at its office in Bengaluru, in the presence of state party chief B Y Vijayendra.
The actor-turned-politician, who emerged victorious as an independent candidate in the 2019 general elections, declared her allegiance to the BJP for the development of Mandya and to support the re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Justifying her decision to join BJP, she said though she was an independent MP, the BJP govt at the Centre gave grants worth Rs 4,000 crore to Mandya Lok Sabha constituency.
She praised BJP functionaries for always taking her into confidence before taking any decision pertaining to the district. Sumalatha’s decision comes after her victory in the 2019 elections, where she received support from the BJP, triumphing over former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda’s grandson, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, from the Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)].
On social media platform ‘X’, in a statement posted, Sumalatha reaffirmed her commitment to support the BJP’s agenda for the progress of Mandya and expressed her desire to see Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister once again. She officially announced her decision to join the BJP at a function held at the BJP office in Bengaluru on Friday, April 5, 2024.
Sumalatha said she was offered the choice of contesting from elsewhere, but she rejected it saying that she would remain the “daughter-in-law” of Mandya. The political landscape in Karnataka has witnessed significant shifts, with the JD(S) aligning with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September last year.
