Political activities pick pace ahead of PM’s Mandya visit

Prime Minister Modi, who will arrive in Mandya for the first time, will inaugurate the Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway at Gejjalagere on March 12, and hold a roadshow on the same day.

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mandya on March 12, the region is witnessing heightened political activity, with leaders shifting camps and announcements of rallies to counter the Prime Minister’s public event, people close to the developments said on Thursday.

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mandya on March 12, the region is witnessing heightened political activity (PTI)

Prime Minister Modi, who will arrive in Mandya for the first time, will inaugurate the Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway at Gejjalagere on March 12, and hold a roadshow on the same day.

Ahead of his visit, actor-turned-politician and Mandya Lok Sabha MP Sumalatha Ambareesh is expected to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the above-cited people said.

Sumalatha, a 59-year-old former multilingual actress, is the widow of popular actor-turned-Congress politician Ambareesh.

Sumalatha won in 2019 by 125,876 votes in the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency, which saw a bitterly contested campaign. She defeated then chief minister H D Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy of the Janata D (Secular).

Responding to the speculations, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, on Thursday, said that discussions are on in this regard. “Process is on, discussions are on,” Bommai told reporters in Vijayapura.

Sumalatha joining the party is crucial for the BJP as it attempts to create a foothold in the Old Mysuru region, which includes Mandya, a traditional stronghold of the JD(S) and Congress.

According to senior party leaders, the BJP is in talks with her to contest for a seat in Mandya in the upcoming assembly elections.

Meanwhile, there are rumours of a senior BJP minister being in talks to join the Congress ahead of the elections. According to leaders in the know of the development, the party is in constant touch with housing minister V Somanna, who joined the BJP in 2008.

The leaders said the minister has been disgruntled with the BJP after former minister K S Eshwarappa was asked to coordinate the party’s Vijay Sankalp Rath Yatra that started from Chamarajanagar, ignoring Somanna is the district in-charge minister. He is also looking for a seat for his son Arun Somanna, said the leaders.

However, revenue minister R Ashoka dismissed talks about Somanna joining the Congress party.

“Don’t confine Somanna to a specific region. He’s a pan-Karnataka figure. Name any mutt, and he has the power to enter inside. He’s influential. There’s no disgruntlement. We’re in touch daily,” Ashoka told reporters on the sidelines of the BJP’s Vijaya Sankalpa Yatra roadshow in the Govindarajanagar constituency, which is represented by Somanna.

The Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar is heading to Mandya and leaving the party’s ongoing Praja Dhwanirally has kept the Sommana’s rumours alive. Shivakumar maintained that no BJP leaders would join the Congress.

Meanwhile, the intelligence officials said the JD (S) is planning a rally in the district on Sunday as a show of strength in the state, adding that the party would provide non-vegetarian meals to those arriving for the rally to increase the footfall.

The BJP, on the other hand, is planning to bring in more than 40,000 volunteers for the roadshow and over 100,000 people to the public meeting to be held at the vast space near the Gejjalagere Colony, officials said.

Talking about the PM’s road show, the Mandya district administration officials said that the roadshow would start from the Inspection Bungalow (IB) Circle (Haripriya Hotel) to the old Nanda Theatre.

Deputy commissioner HN Gopalakrishna, who held a meeting of officials to prepare for the roadshow on Thursday, said that the PM’s roadshow would stretch for about 1.5 kms.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Karnataka to inaugurate the Mysuru-Bengaluru expressway, the Mandya district police have announced traffic diversions for commuters on March 12. Gopalakrishna said traffic on the road would be diverted to alternate routes between 6 am and 6 pm, and all vehicles would be subject to the diversion.