Q&A: Sympathy won't help Sumalatha, says CS Puttaraju JD(S) leader

There is no sympathy wave in favour of former minister late M.H. Ambareesh in Mandya district, asserts Minor Irrigation Minister and JD(S) leader C.S. Puttaraju who adds that people of the constituency are very intelligent and will take a right decision at the right time. The victory of the Janata Dal (Secular) candidate is sure no matter who it is, says the Mandya strongman, considered the right hand of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy,  in an interview with Deccan Chronicle. Here are excerpts

Why is the JD(S) hell-bent on  Mandya? Is there any special reason?
It's very simple. Our party had won all the eight Assembly seats in the district and has three members in the State Legislative Council. Besides, the zilla panchayats and several taluk panchayats are in our control. This constituency has been one of the strongholds of our party. The people of this constituency have blessed the JD(S) in previous elections too. It will be easy for us to retain this seat as every party worker is committed to work for the victory of our candidate.

Who is your party candidate? Is it JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda or Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy?
So far, the party hasn't taken any decision. There are lot of contenders too. It is the wish of every party worker that Mr Deve Gowda be our candidate. If not, Mr Nikhil who is a young face and a promising neta of our party should be the choice. A lot of development work needs to be carried out. For this reason, the CM announced works worth over Rs 5,500 crore last week. Having Mr Nikhil as our MP will ensure an advantage as he will get margadarshan from his grandfather, father and uncle who are in politics for long.

Don't you think  Mr Nikhil Kumaraswamy is too young to become a Lok Sabha member?
Why not? He is very intelligent and has fresh ideas for the overall development of Mandya. Age is not a barrier when it comes to  social service. In fact, Mr Nikhil can emulate his grandfather and father when it comes to development of Hassan and Ramanagara districts respectively. Infusing young blood is always good in politics as they will have a vision and new ideas.

Congress leaders are demanding that the Mandya seat should be given to them as they consider it their stronghold?
Name any leader from the Congress party who wants this constituency to be given to them. This demand is coming only from former minister A Manju who has already one foot outside the Congress and may join the BJP. Except him, none of the Congress leaders from Mandya are opposing the allotment of the seat to JD(S). This has been decided among national leaders and local leaders have no say. I am optimistic that our Congress friends will work jointly to ensure the victory of our candidate. Even if they don't campaign, the JD(S) is confident of retaining this seat. From the beginning, the fight has been always between the JD(S) and Congress and the BJP is totally out of the picture.

Banking heavily on the sympathy wave in favour of her late husband, Ms Sumalatha Ambareesh is planning to contest as an independent in Mandya. Will this not affect your party prospects?
I don't think so. I too have sympathy for Ambareesh as an individual and a political colleague. The voters may feel sympathy for three time MP, Mr Ambareesh but this will not influence them when they exercise their franchise. The people of this district owe their allegiance to Mr Deve Gowda and his family members. For this reason, they ensured the victory of the JD(S) candidates in all eight Assembly constituencies last year.

Don't you think the Vokkaliga votes will split if Sumalatha Ambareesh contests?
Our party did not win all  eight assembly seats only relying on the support of Vokkaligas, we also have the support of other communities. This constituency has a mixture of all communities like Kurubas, Vokkaligas, Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Brahmins and minorities. All of them are solidly behind the JD(S). So, the question of division in the Vokkaliga votes does not arise.