M’lore, here comes Chandi Chamundi

BJP leaders think local star and film chamber head Jayamala is ideal candidate to contest elections from the disturbed city

M'lore, here comes Chandi Chamundi

BJP leaders think local star and film chamber head Jayamala is ideal candidate to contest elections from the disturbed city

BJP leaders think actress Jayamala has the right mix of glamour, leadership qualities and popularity to make her a winning candidate in Mangalore in the coming elections.

It's not a rumour, confirmed Jayamala, but stopped short of giving out details, sayingu00a0 "nothing concrete has happened yet."

Party sources said though former union minister Dhananjaya Kumar was angling for a ticket, Jayamala seems to be the preferred choice.

Woman's face

"The party needs a woman's face," said a BJP leader and "Jayamala will be a good replacement for Manorama Madhwaraj who deserted the party."

Not just that.u00a0 Jayamalau00a0 is from South Canara and belongs to the toddy-tapping Billava community which is dominant in the coastal belt.

As the first woman president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, she has been appreciated for steering the Kannada film industry in the right direction.

"She is no longer only a glamour doll as she has proved her acumen in the film chamber," said a BJP source.

Geopolitics

There are two constituencies covering South Canara u2014Mangalore and Udupi & Chikmagalur.u00a0

According to a party leader, "Sadananda Gowda will contest from one and Jayamala from the other."

Who contests in which constituency depends on Congress strongman Vinayakumar Sorake.

If he enters the fray, BJP state president Sadananda Gowda will face him and Jayamala will move to the other constituency.

H N Ananth Kumar, BJP MP from Bangalore South and incharge of Karnataka affairs, said, "We are exploring all options but nothing has finalised."

Jayamala awarded a doctorate by Bangalore University for her thesis on rehabilitation programmes for homeless women in the state.

She had also raked up a controversy some years ago, when she said she had visited the Aiyappa temple, which is barred for women. She claimed that she had entered the sanctum santorium and touched the feet of the lord.

Glamour unlimited
A heartthrob in the '70s and '80s, Jayamala had set the screen ablaze in many films including Shankar Guru, Girikanye and Trimurthi. As a superstar, she would single-handedly ensure a film's success and blockbusters like Chandi Chamundi were centred around her character. She even bagged a national award for her role in her own production, Thayi Saheba, directed by Girish Kasaravalli.