A day after Home Minister Amit Shah visited Bengaluru and Mandya in Karnataka, actor and Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh on Wednesday, April 3, announced her decision not to contest the Mandya seat and instead join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

Sumalatha’s decision comes after days of uncertainty during which she had considered contesting again as an independent candidate if the BJP does not give her a ticket from the party. She had met senior BJP leaders including JP Nadda in New Delhi in mid-March to discuss her candidature. At that juncture, the seat-sharing between the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) had not been finalised even though the electoral alliance was announced in September 2023. The two parties decided that the JD(S) would contest the Mandya, Kolar (reserved for SCs) and Hassan seats. 

Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra had also met Sumalatha seeking her support for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), after the pact with the JDS’ was finalised. Sumalatha fought the 2019 parliamentary elections from Mandya — a seat that her late husband and superstar Ambareesh held for several terms — as an independent candidate. She contested the polls a year after the death of Ambareesh in 2018, with support from actors Darshan and Yash. In Parliament, she supported the BJP.