Women push up Mandya turnout to a surprise 80%

MANDYA: In the hinterlands of Mandya, Doddarasinakere is particularly significant this time as it’s the birthplace of ‘Mandyada Gandu’ late actorpolitician MH Ambareesh.


On Thursday, soon after his wife Sumalatha (independent) voted there, the mere arrival of her main opponent Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and JD(S)-Congress candidate, triggered emotional outpouring among Ambareesh’s fans and locals who chanted “Nikhil go back”. JD(S) responded with “Nikhil ge jai”.

The scuffle broke out when Nikhil was garlanded by his supporters when he arrived at the polling station despite the gesture being disallowed by the ECI poll code. The police too had allegedly disallowed Sumalatha to even speak to her supporters.

Within minutes of Nikhil arriving at the polling station along with relative and transport minister DC Thamanna, the two sets of supporters pushed and shoved each other. Police and CRPF personnel intervened swiftly to defuse the tension.

At the other end, in Malavalli, a scuffle broke out between men of both two parties over an alleged assault on Sumalatha’s polling agent by JD(S) workers. Here too, police quickly sorted out the issue. These clashes are manifestations of the emotional battle between the families of Kumaraswamy and HD Deve Gowda on the one hand, and of Ambareesh backed by Sandalwood superstars Yash and Darshan on the other.

The high-voltage fight between Sumalatha and Nikhil has been termed a battle between Mandya’s pride versus loyalty to the Vokkaliga-controlled JD(S).

The high voter turnout, specifically of women, has given rise to the theory that Sumalatha’s candidature has struck a chord with them. According to local BJP cadres, the presence of Yash and Darshan has lent heft to Sumalatha’s campaign.

“All this boosted the voting numbers, especially among women and youngsters,” said a BJP party worker working for Sumalatha in Mandya after the saffron party officially supported her by not fielding a candidate. Given that the voting percentage crossed 70% by 5pm, the battle seemed all set for a photo finish.

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