‘Threats, power cut won’t work, I’ll fight, says Sumalatha Ambareesh

Not many from either the film industry or the political arena had imagined that actress Sumalatha Ambareesh, widow of former minister late Ambareesh, would hog the limelight so fast after announcing her candidature for the Lok Sabha polls from Mandya as an Independent. In an interview with BHASKAR HEGDE, Sumalatha spoke of many issues which were not in the public domain so far. She spoke of how a few days after Ambareesh’s death, she was offered an MLC seat and even a cabinet berth as the JD(S) felt she might contest the polls and wanted to deter her from doing that. What helped her make the transition from the wife who lived in the shadow of a popular minister, to a very strong candidate, is her poise, mannerism devoid of any artificial touch, her dignified political conversations and her emotional speeches laced with reason and rhyme. This has also helped make her fight with JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of the CM, an extremely interesting one. Here are excerpts from the interview.

What is your reaction to the massive crowd which gathered for your show of strength on the day you filed your nomination papers for the Mandya seat?
Frankly speaking, I did not expect it even in my wildest dreams. I was expecting 15,000-20,000 people but what I heard was that no less than 50,000 attended. Even that is a conservative estimate. Even Darshan and Yash were taken aback.

Were they Ambareesh fans or Congress workers?
See, earlier when Ambareesh used to file his nomination papers, many stars accompanied him. Ambareesh had fans in every political party. You might have seen Congress workers holding party flags and walking aside my cavalcade. They are supporting me openly as they are upset with the party decision to give the seat to JD (S).

Three weeks back, you had gone around the district. What was your intention and what feedback did you get?
Party workers and second and third rung leaders (of the Congress) were asking why Mandya was handed over to JD (S)? They wondered what will happen to the Congress after leaders took the stance that Mandya is a JD (S) stronghold and decided not to field a candidate. Suppose for instance, Nikhil gets elected, where do we go? This was the feeling they had. So I wanted to gauge the mood. I went to villages and the response was spontaneous. It was no artificial crowd. In every village, the reactions were the same. ‘Don’t let us down. You should not withdraw now. If you go back, don’t come back’.

The party may take disciplinary action against leaders (of the Congress backing you)?
They are ready. They say let them (leadership) send notices. Even before they sack us, we will take action.

When did you decide to enter the fray?
After I started going around, Congress workers started coming out and telling me that if I contested, they would support me though their leaders may not back me. That’s exactly when I decided to contest. At that time, I met Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar. Siddaramaiah looked helpless because the seat was to be given to JD (S). Mr D.K. Shivakumar told me, ‘Don’t even think of Mandya.’ He did not seem to understand what I was trying to convey. He said I will lose because the entire government would be there backing the JD(S) candidate. ‘If you contest from Bengaluru South, we will put our might behind you, the government will be with you. All equations including Vokkaliga sentiments will work for you.’ But I said I was not interested in contesting from any other place. I told him you are a popular Vokkaliga leader and it would be a feather in your cap if you revive the party there (in Mandya). He said the Congress was already there. I was surprised. They want to save the government, they don’t want to save the party. Maybe it was he, Ambareesh who guided me. If I had thought of it too much, I might not have contested.

You spoke of the offer of an MLC seat? Who offered what and when?
Ten days after Ambareesh passed away; one of the ministers sent a word through Rockline Venkatesh (director) that they wanted to offer an MLC seat to me. They asked me if I was ok with it. In fact, Nikhil had come too and told Abhi (her son Abhishek) that they (government) may offer the MLC seat and asked if I would accept it. I said no. When news started coming out that I may contest the polls, they(JD-S) sent feelers to me on a cabinet berth besides an MLC seat. But I wondered why I should become one more power hungry politician, desperate for power. Being his wife, if I accepted the offer, I would be doing injustice to him (Ambareesh).

Many say an emotional approach is fine but wonder where you will get the foot soldiers who can go door to door and campaign for you?
Apart from fans, Congress workers have come forward. They are the ones who are planning, strategizing for every booth. They are not afraid of disciplinary action. The kind of positive vibes coming from there is surprising. The will of the people can defeat the might of the government. People have started saying that my victory is a foregone conclusion and only the margin has to be seen.

The Bharatiya Janata Party may field a candidate making it a three way contest? Your reaction..
The BJP has not penetrated deep into Mandya. Last time, the party candidate got 2.5 lakh votes. It is an open secret that disgruntled Congress workers who were not willing to support Janata Dal (Secular), worked and voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party last time. ‘And if you come we will support you’ they said. The BJP has a base of 60,000 to one lakh. If they don’t put up a candidate, it will be a big plus for me.

Do you approach them or did they approach you?
It is not that I did not get feelers. The Bharatiya Janata Party is a powerful national party, I will get all the support, their leaders will campaign for me, even the Prime Minister might campaign. This was what they (BJP leaders) told me. But people said contest as an independent and you can get votes cutting across party lines.

Many observers say that to sustain the campaign, a candidate has to have an agenda. Do you have one? The other side (Janata Dal – Secular) has assured a Rs 5,000 crore package for Mandya district.
I am not going to pretend I will change the landscape of Mandya in one day. I have seen what Ambareesh did. He built hospitals, roads, etc. My first campaign message is: You can fight an election with clean and healthy methods without resorting to dirty tricks and cheap talk. This is my first agenda. The way elections are fought is itself a message. I can assure people of Mandya that I will be an efficient voice of the district. Farm distress is a cause of concern and I want to fight it.

Janata Dal (Secular) MLA Narayana Gowda has virtually threatened film personalities not to campaign for you. Incidentally, Puneeth Rajkumar has announced he will not campaign for anyone.
The moment actors Darshan and Yash came forward to campaign for me, such merciless statements came out. Surely this is a pressure tactic. It is not that I will win elections the moment they come in. People are threatened by their popularity. In the last election, Yash campaigned for Sa Ra Mahesh (Janata Dal – Secular minister). People are not fools. They are sure to consider such pressure and bullying tactics. Such strategies will not work. Yesterday when the rally was going on, people came and complained that internet, cable TV and power supply was cut in the whole of Mandya district. I was shocked. I do not know whose handiwork it was? Anybody can guess who’s behind this. Nobody should go this far. Don’t stab me from behind, you can’t be a warrior then. Come from the front and stab me. It is ok; it can be called a courageous act.

Are you going to invite film personalities from other states?
I have not invited anybody not even actors Darshan and Yash. I asked them whether I am doing the right thing? ‘You take the call, we will be with you’-that’s what they said.