All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday said that Latha Mallikarjun who got elected as an independent from the Harapanahalli Assembly segment in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka extended “unconditional support” to the Congress party.
"Smt. Lata Mallikarjun, Independent MLA from Harpanhalli Assembly is daughter of veteran Congress Leader and Ex Deputy CM, Late M.P.Prakash. She has extended unconditional support to the Congress Party in Karnataka considering her ideological roots and commitment to Congress ideals. I thank her, her husband Mallikarjun and all the supporters and well wishers. We will serve the 6.5 Crore Kannadigas together," Surjewala tweeted.
Latha Mallikarjun is the daughter of the late Janata Parivar leader and former Deputy Chief Minister M P Prakash. Latha won the Harapanahalli seat by defeating BJP's G Karunakara Reddy by a margin of 13,845 votes.
{{/usCountry}}Latha Mallikarjun is the daughter of the late Janata Parivar leader and former Deputy Chief Minister M P Prakash. Latha won the Harapanahalli seat by defeating BJP's G Karunakara Reddy by a margin of 13,845 votes.
{{/usCountry}}Latha's father M P Prakash had joined the Congress party in his last days. This was also continued by his son, M P Ravindra, who died in 2018.
After the death of M P Ravindra, his three sisters M P Lata, M P Suma, and M P Veena worked to retain their father’s legacy. Lata and Veena joined the Congress party whereas Suma joined the BJP.
“Though both Lata and Veena were aspirants from Harapanahalli constituency from Congress party, after the denial of ticket, both had decided to contest as an independent but soon after Veena decided to withdraw her candidature in favour of her elder sister," Deccan Herald quoted a senior party leader as saying.
In the elections to the 224-member Assembly of Karnataka, the Congress emerged victorious with 135 seats, while the BJP and JD(S) got 66 and 19 seats respectively.