MYSURU: Former minister N Chaluvaraya Swamy was noncommittal on who he would support in Mandya, a constituency he represented in the Lok Sabha after his win in 2009. A close confidant of chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, Swamy joined the Congress ahead of assembly elections last year after falling out with the JD(S) top brass. Prior to joining the Congress, he represented Nagamangala assembly segment, which he won thrice on JD(S) tickets. Last year he contested assembly elections on a Congress ticket, but lost.Swamy suggested his party’s strategy in Mandya — which will see a high-profile contest between actor Sumalatha Ambareesh and Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of the chief minister — is yet to be drawn up. Excerpts.Madam (Sumalatha) has good support from people. There is no doubt she is a strong contender in this election. Nikhil has the support of eight JD(S) MLAs from the Lok Sabha constituency, including three ministers (transport minister DC Thammanna, minor irrigation minister CS Puttaraju and tourism minister SR Mahesh). He is also being promoted vigorously by chief minister Kumaraswamy.Both candidates have their influence and support in the constituency. At present, we cannot gauge who has the upper hand. Only after April 1, the last date of withdrawal of nomination papers, we will get a clear picture. The real work for the election starts next month. Till then, there will be no major developments.Our leaders former CM Siddaramaiah and KPCC president Dinesh Gundurao are in Delhi to discuss seat-sharing problems which have cropped up in Kolar and Tumakuru constituencies. They will return to Bengaluru on Wednesday. After they return, we will hold a meeting and discuss plans for Mandya. We will get to air our views at the meeting.No JD(S) leader has approached me as yet.No, madam (Sumalatha) has not yet met me or sought my support, but film producers ‘Rockline’ Venkatesh and Madhu had met me a few days ago. We spoke on developments in the constituency.

Stay updated with all the Latest Mysore headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.