Actress Malavika Avinash on Tuesday said she was also among the aspirants for the BJP ticket from Krishnaraja Assembly constituency in Mysuru.
When asked whether she was an aspirant for the party ticket to contest from Krishnaraja, Ms. Avinash replied in the affirmative. “Yes, I am an aspirant”, she said, but added that she will abide by any decision the party leadership took with regard to her candidature.
Ms. Avinash was in Mysuru on Tuesday to oversee the setting up of the party’s regional media centre for the coming Assembly polls. Though there was speculation that she was also in the race for the BJP ticket from Krishnaraja, it was the first time that the actress-turned BJP leader had publicly acknowledged her electoral plans.
Her aspiration to contest from Krishnaraja is expected to come in the way of former Minister S.A. Ramdas and BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa’s confidante H.Y. Rajeev securing the party ticket.
During the last Assembly elections in 2013, Mr. Ramdas contested from the BJP. Mr. Rajeev had entered the fray as a candidate of the then Mr. Yeddyurappa-led Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP). Congress candidate M.K. Somashekar was eventually elected.
Ms. Avinash’s public admission of her aspiration to contest from Krishnaraja comes at a time when Mr. Ramdas and Mr. Rajeev are seriously contending with each other for the party ticket.
