People
in
Karnataka
are
generally
crazy
about
film
stars,
but
this
adoration
has
not
tempted
many
actors
to
enter
politics.
And
the
few
who
are
contesting
in
the
May
5
assembly
polls
are
having
a
tough
time.
The
most
prominent
actor
in
the
fray
is
Congress
candidate
MH
Ambareesh,
who
was
a
junior
minister
for
a
short
period
in
the
first
United
Progressive
Alliance
government
at
New
Delhi.
Known
as
"Rebel
Star" in
his
reel
life,
Ambareesh
(61),
is
battling
the
strongest
rebellion
against
him
in
his
15-year-old
political
career
in
his
home
district
of
Mandya,
about
80
km
from
Bangalore.
Opposing
his
candidature
from
Mandya
constituency,
district
party
unit
chief
MS
Atmananda
has
quit
while
several
other
leaders
have
said
they
will
stay
from
campaign.
Ambareesh
is
now
desperately
trying
to
woo
the
rebels
to
avoid
suffering
his
third
defeat
since
2008.
Ambareesh
was
elected
to
the
Lok
Sabha
from
Mandya
for
the
first
time
in
1998
and
re-elected
in
1999
and
2004.
Since
then
his
political
fortunes
have
been
on
the
decline
and
he
tasted
electoral
defeat
twice
in
a
year.
Still
being
Lok
Sabha
member,
he
lost
from
Srirangapatna
assembly
constituency
in
Mandya
district
in
the
2008
assembly
poll.
Next
year
he
was
defeated
in
the
Lok
Sabha
poll
from
the
Mandya
seat.
Ambareesh
is
the
most
prominent
Kannada
film
actor
who
has
been
in
electoral
politics
since
1998
while
most
of
his
contemporaries
and
the
present
younger
lot
of
heroes
and
heroines
have
been
shunning,
though
some
of
them
campaign
for
political
parties.
Three
women
actors
were
to
contest
the
May
5
poll,
one
from
Congress
and
two
from
BSR
Congress
floated
by
B
Sriramulu,
a
former
Bharatiya
Janata
Party
(BJP)
minister
and
loyalist
of
jailed
mining
baron
G
Janardhana
Reddy.
However,
only
two
are
now
in
the
fray
-
Veteran
actress
Umashree
(56),
of
Congress
contesting
the
poll
for
the
second
time,
and
Pooja
Gandhi
(29),
from
BSR
Congress,
in
fray
for
the
first
time.
Rakshita
Prem
The
BSR
Congress
lost
another
actress,
Rakshita,
29,
who
quit
the
party
recently
though
she
had
been
chosen
to
contest.
While
Umashree
has
been
active
in
politics
for
more
than
a
decade,
Pooja,
born
in
Punjab,
has
changed
three
parties
in
one
year.
Umashree
Umashree
was
a
nominated
member
of
the
legislative
council
between
2001
and
2007.
She
contested
and
lost
the
2008
assembly
polls
for
the
first
time
from
Terdal
in
Bagalkot,
around
550
km
north
of
Bangalore.
She
has
been
fielded
again
from
Terdal
by
the
Congress.
Rakshita,
Pooja
Gandhi
With
Sri
Ramulu
Pooja,
who
now
speaks
Kannada
though
with
little
difficulty,
hit
big
in
2006
as
heroine
of
film
Mungaru
Male
(Monsoon
Rain)
which
was
a
huge
success
at
Box
Office.
She
is
popularly
referred
to
as
Male
Hudugi
(Rain
girl).
She
joined
Janata
Dal-Secular
in
Jan
2012,
quit
in
December
and
went
to
Karnataka
Janata
Party
(KJP)
headed
by
former
BJP
leader
BS
Yeddyurappa.
Pooja
Gandhi
Pooja
did
not
stay
there
for
long
and
switched
over
to
BSR
Congress
last
month
and
has
been
fielded
from
Raichur
seat
in
Raichur
district,
about
400
km
north
of
Bangalore.
Though
only
three
leading
Kannada
film
personalities
are
contesting
the
poll,
several
actresses
are
campaigning
for
ruling
Bharatiya
Janata
Party
and
the
main
challenger,
the
Congress.
Ramya
The
Congress
glamour
quotient
is
Ramya,
the
reigning
heroine
while
BJP
has
Tara,
a
national
award
winning
actress
seeking
votes
for
their
parties.
Voting
to
elect
224
members
of
the
225-strong
assembly
that
include
one
nominated
member
will
take
place
in
a
single
phase
May
5.
Results
will
be
known
on
May
8.