New Delhi, April 25 -- Mandya Lok Sabha seat, one of the 28 parliamentary seats in Karnataka, holds important significance for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Janata Dal (Secular), with former two-time chief minister HD Kumaraswamy contesting in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Friday.

Kumaraswamy, who is the JD(S) chief and the son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda is pitted in a battle of prestige against Venkataramegowda (Star Chandru) from the Congress for the seat, which is considered a Vokkaliga heartland.

In the 2019 elections, Sumalatha Ambareesh, who contested as an independent candidate emerged victorious from Mandya, securing 7,03,660 votes. Nikhil Kumaraswamy from JD(S) got 5,77,784 votes.

Ambaree...