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Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh said that she refrained from contesting the Lok Sabha elections this time as she wanted to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi and wished for the Bharatiya Janata Party's return to power.
The actor-turned-politician, who was an independent MP earlier this month joined BJP in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. "A lot of my followers wanted me to contest (from Mandya) again this time. But I did not want my own ego or my own future to come in the way of my state's future. I want to support PM Modi and the BJP coming back to power," the incumber MP said while speaking to ANI. The BJP's alliance partner, Janata Dal (Secular), is contesting from Mandya under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) this time. JD(S) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy filed his nomination from the Mandya constituency earlier this month. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sumalatha Ambareesh won as an independent, defeating JD (S) leader and HD Kumaraswamy's son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy and another independent, ML Shashikumar from Mandya. In the 2014 general elections, JD (S) leader CS Puttaraju won the seat against Congress candidate Remya pulling off 43.95 per cent vote share. Karnataka, which has 28 Lok Sabha seats, will vote in two phases on April 26 and May 7. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and JD(S) fought together against the BJP. The BJP had won a record 25 seats; Congress and JD(S) won just one seat each. The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will be held in seven phases starting on April 19. The counting of votes on June 4. (ANI)
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