BJP mulls bringing Mandya MP Sumalatha to state politics ahead of assembly polls

News Network

April 3, 2023

Bengaluru, Apr 3: In a major push to capture the south Karnataka region, especially Mandya district which is considered a JD(S) bastion, the BJP is contemplating to bring MP Sumalatha Ambareesh to state politics ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, according to sources.

BJP insiders explain that the saffron party is planning to field the actress-turned-politician from the Mandya Assembly seat.

She will not only contest the May 10 elections, but also work as a star campaigner in the six other Assembly seats of the district.

Sumalatha had joined the BJP recently and won as an independent candidate from Mandya in the 2019 parliamentary elections.

The saffron party had declared support for her candidature. In the 2019 polls, she defeated Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the son of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, by a whopping margin of more than a lakh votes.

Sumalatha is the widow of late Kannada superstar Ambareesh, who is regarded as an iconic figure of the Vokkaliga community.

Ambareesh had pursued a political career for about three decades and had a large number of supporters' and fans' base. He hailed from Mandya.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is determined to make headway in the south Karnataka region which has 57 Assembly seats.

The BJP hopes to win more than 20 seats from here.

Mandya and Hassan districts have seven seats each. The BJP had won one seat each in these districts and the rest seats were held by the JD(S).

The JD (S) party derives its core strength from these districts.

The arrival of Sumalatha is expected to change the calculations in the south districts. The intensified campaigning by the MP will also help to consolidate the Vokkaliga vote bank.

Now, the saffron party is planning to project her as Vokkaliga face against Kumaraswamy and Congress President D.K. Shivakumar.

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Taliban appoints Ikramuddin Kamil as acting consul in Mumbai as India-Afghan ties improve

News Network

November 12,2024

The Taliban regime has appointed Ikramuddin Kamil as the acting consul in the Afghan mission in Mumbai, Afghan media has reported.

It is the first such appointment made by the Taliban set up to any Afghan mission in India.

There was no immediate comment from the Indian side on the appointment that came.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan has announced the appointment of Kamil as the acting consul in Mumbai, the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

"He is currently in Mumbai, where he is fulfilling his duties as a diplomat representing the Islamic Emirate," it said.

The appointment is part of Kabul's efforts to strengthen diplomatic ties with India and enhance its presence abroad, the media outlet said

Kamil holds a PhD degree in international law and previously served as the deputy director in the department of security cooperation and border affairs in the foreign ministry, it said.

He is expected to facilitate consular services and represent the interests of Afghanistan in India, the report added.

Kamil's appointment comes days after the external affairs ministry's point-person for Afghanistan held talks with the Taliban's acting defence minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, in Kabul.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister for political affairs, also posted on X about Kamil's appointment.

The appointment of Kamil is seen as part of efforts to facilitate consular services to the Afghan population in Mumbai.

There has been almost negligible presence of diplomatic staff at the Afghan missions in India.

Most of the diplomats appointed by the Ashraf Ghani government have already left India.

In May, Zakia Wardak, the seniormost Afghan diplomat in India, resigned from her position after reports emerged that she was caught at the Mumbai airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 25 kg of gold worth Rs 18.6 crore from Dubai.

Wardak had taken charge as the acting ambassador of Afghanistan to New Delhi late last year, after working as the Afghan consul general in Mumbai for more than two years.

She took charge of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi last November, after the mission helmed by then ambassador Farid Mamundzay announced its closure.

Mamundzay, who was an appointee of the Ghani government, had moved to the United Kingdom.

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