Will reveal my plans on March 18, says actress Sumalatha on contesting from Mandya

All set to take the political plunge, multi-lingual film actor Sumalatha said Monday she will reveal on March 18 whether she would contest the coming Lok Sabha election from Mandya constituency in Karnataka.

Sumalatha, widow of celebrated Kannada actor Ambareesh, who was a three-time MP from Mandya, has disturbed the political equation with her insistence on contesting from the seat, upsetting calculations of ruling coalition partners Congress and JDS.

"I believe that till the last minute anything can happen. Till it is officially announced, there is nothing to say this won't happen. I will let you know on March 18," Sumalatha told reporters in Mandya.

She urged people to not give credence to speculation that Congress leaders were persuading her to not contest from Mandya.

"Please don't heed to rumours about me unless I reveal it to you, given the fact that Mandya is one of the prestigious Lok Sabha seats, not only in Karnataka, but in the entire country," the actor added.

She admitted that Congress strongman and Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar has requested her to not contest from Mandya.

"Well, nobody can pressure me because they know who I am and what I am, but D K Shivakumar had met me with a suggestion that I should contest from somewhere else.

"He told me that since coalition dharma (with JD-S) was in place, Congress cannot retain Mandya. I too told him about my stand on this matter," Sumalatha said.

Having a substantial population of the dominant Vokkaliga community, Mandya is traditionally considered a JD(S) citadel.

JD(S) has not only made Congress give up Mandya but also decided to field Nikhil Gowda, son of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and third generation leader from the Gowda family, from the constituency.

Ambareesh, barring a brief stint in JD(S), had been associated with Congress and was the minister of state for information and broadcasting in UPA-I dispensation. He had represented Mandya thrice in Lok Sabha.

The restlessness in the JD(S) was so apparent that Karnataka PWD Minister H D Revanna targeted Sumalatha, saying she has decided to enter politics when not even a month had passed since the demise of her husband.

The statement of Revanna, son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and brother of Chief Minister Kumaraswamy, to a private TV news channel in Delhi Friday has embarrassed his party.

Sumalatha was not grateful to what Kumaraswamy did for Ambareesh, who died in November last year, he had said, referring to the arrangements made by the state government for his funeral.

Revanna drew flak from the party, Congress and the BJP for his remarks.