Bengaluru: Sumalatha Ambareesh, wife of late actor and Congress leader MH Ambareesh, refused to confirm or deny whether she will be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket or as an independent.
After meeting BJP leader SM Krishna on Friday, she said, "I will be firmly announcing what I am going to do on March 18." She termed the meeting as only a 'courtesy visit'.
She accused the Congress of letting its workers and leaders' morale down by not fielding a candidate from the Mandya constituency. Sumalatha was expected to contest from Mandya since her husband had represented the seat in the lower house.
However, as per the seat-sharing arrangement between JD(S) and Congress, Mandya seat will be contested by JD(S). JD(S) is likely to field Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumarswamy’s son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy from the seat.
"I am not let down by the decision. The Congress party is letting their own cadre, workers, and leaders down by taking the decision. They (workers) feel that Congress might be wiped out in the region due to the decision," she told reporters after meeting SM Krishna.
Read:Cong rules out fielding Sumalatha from Mandya, seat to go to JD(S)
She claimed that the party workers are already supporting her. "Congress party workers are supporting me already because they are very unhappy about the party's decision not to field its candidate," she said adding, "I have a mission and I want to accomplish that."
Meanwhile, SM Krishna termed her as a family friend and said that he was personally very happy to meet her.
"She has explained to me the situation prevailing in the Mandya constituency. I will be reverting to her after discussing with the party leadership," he said.
The elections for the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka will be held in two phases on April 18 and April 23. The results will be announced on May 23.
(With Inputs from ANI)
