The possible meeting between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and actor-turned-politician M.H. Ambareesh here on Sunday, for reportedly sorting out the issue over the actor’s candidature from Mandya seat, did not take place.
The party has given the ticket to Mr. Ambareesh, but the actor is yet to make his stand clear and has not collected the ‘B’ form either.
With only two days left to file the nomination papers, Mr. Ambareesh has put the party in a tricky position.
The Chief Minister arrived here on Sunday to participate in a party convention at H.D. Kote, while the actor reportedly checked into the hotel of his long-time friend Sandesh Nagaraj, JD(S) MLC, here.
The actor’s supporters from Mandya, including his aide Amaravati Chandrashekar, gathered in front of the hotel in the morning to meet the actor who has remained incommunicado. His fans too gathered outside the hotel and raised slogans asking him to contest from Mandya.
The actor has not been seen in public ever since the ticket announcement was made. Mr. Nagaraj, who spoke to the media, said the actor told him he would take a decision by Monday evening. But sources said the actor was still camping in Mysuru, but was refusing to meet his supporters or party leaders.
Meanwhile, Mr. Siddaramaiah on Sunday said Mr. Ambareesh had been given ticket from Mandya constituency and it was up to him to take a call.
To a question on whether he would meet the actor to convince him to enter the fray from Mandya, the Chief Minister said: “I won’t be meeting him but he can meet me if he wishes.”
Atmananda to contest?
Mandya Special Correspondent adds:
With Mr. Ambareesh not revealing his mind, it is said that the All-India Congress Committee is contemplating fielding veteran Congress leader M.S. Atmananda from Mandya Assembly segment.
After a lot of dilly-dallying, the party had declared the candidature of Mr. Ambareesh, who was dropped from State Cabinet in 2016 for allegedly being inactive, in the first list.
It is said that Mr. Ambareesh had placed a few demands, including replacing candidates for a few constituencies in Mandya district. However, neither the party nor he has clarified this.
Meanwhile, the demand for fielding Ramya, former MP, is also growing. The party needs leaders such as Ms. Ramya and not those “who cause damage,” K.P. Gunashekar, Congress leader from Pandavapura, said. A letter would be sent to AICC and KPCC demanding that she be nominated, he added.
