Fights broke out between supporters of the JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy and those of the independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh in Mandya as the 14 constituencies of the state went to polls on Thursday. The election in Mandya is being watched closely with the poll battle taking place between two first-time runners, Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Sumalatha Ambareesh.
A video shows Nikhil greeting the crowd from his car before the fight between the two groups broke out. A man begins shouting “Sumalatha akka jai,” after which he is beaten by a few other men. After this, more supporters of Sumalatha began shouting, "Sumalatha akka jai.” As the brawl continues, policemen step in to break up the fight.
Mandya has been a hotbed of issues this election season. Nikhil, a third-generation politician, is the son of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. Sumalatha Ambareesh is the wife of late actor-politician Ambareesh, who was a three-time MLA from the district with the Congress party.
Following the Assembly elections held in May 2018, the JD(S) and Congress formed the government through an alliance. As a result of this, there were several speculations regarding to whom the coalition would be allocating the Mandya seat in the Lok Sabha elections.
While many Congress party members came out in support of Sumalatha, the JD(S) opposed this. Ultimately, the seat was given to Nikhil Kumaraswamy. Sumalatha opted to stand as an independent candidate with the support of several Congress party members (who were not allowed to campaign for her) as well as actors Yash and Darshan.
Polling began in the state at 7 am on Thursday and saw a voter turnout of 38.28 percent as of 2 pm. The lowest turnout of voters has been in Bengaluru Central with only 28.65 percent while Dakshina Kannada had the highest voter turnout rate at 48.84 percent.