Mandya: If speculations turn out to be true, the Mandya Assembly Constituency will witness another closely contested electoral battle, as Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy is considering running in Mandya as his second seat, alongside Channapatna, which he currently represents in the Legislative Assembly.

In the 2018 elections, Kumaraswamy successfully contested from both Channapatna and Ramanagara constituencies. Reliable sources suggest that Kumaraswamy will be running in both Channapatna and Mandya Constituencies this time around.

To support this development, various arrangements are being made, such as booking a room for Kumaraswamy’s three-week stay at a prestigious hotel in the name of a JD(S) leader, as well as reserving a meeting hall. Furthermore, a bank account has been opened in Kumaraswamy’s name at a bank in the area.

As a precursor to this, JD(S) leaders, who addressed the media four to five days ago, strongly advocated for Kumaraswamy’s participation in the Mandya Constituency. M. Srinivas, the incumbent JD(S) MLA of Mandya, also expressed a similar sentiment.

“Mandya will prosper if Kumaraswamy contests. If he decides to run, I am willing to give up the seat. We have already met with Kumaraswamy thrice and have invited him to contest in Mandya,” he said.

Kumaraswamy has stated that he will make a final decision after meeting with the party leaders and workers of Mandya soon. “There has been pressure for me to run in Mandya. Even some senior Congress leaders have met with me and suggested that I contest in Mandya, as there is a possibility of sweeping all seven Constituencies in the district if I do. However, there are no obstacles to my victory in Channapatna, but my opponents have spread misinformation about my potential candidacy in Mandya due to their fear of losing the election in Channapatna,” Kumaraswamy said.

BJP strategy

Meanwhile, the BJP is gearing up to field Mandya Lok Sabha MP Sumalatha Ambarish in the event of Kumaraswamy deciding to contest from Mandya.

This is part of BJP’s big plans to field strong candidates against the Opposition’s top leaders like Siddharamaiah, D.K. Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy in order to dispel the notion that it fields weak candidates against the Opposition in Vokkaliga heartland. “Sumalatha seems to be positive about contesting against Kumaraswamy though nothing is fixed as yet,” BJP sources said.