Urmila Matondkar Cong candidate from Mumbai?

Mumbai: Political circles are abuzz with speculation over famed Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar’s possible entry into politics as a Congress candidate in Mumbai, sources said. The ‘Masoom’ (1983) child actress is widely considered in the reckoning for a Congress nomination from Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency. If nominated, Matondkar’s formidable rival would be BJP incumbent MP Gopal Shetty in the constituency that was once regarded a BJP bastion. The name of Matondkar, 45, married to a Kashmiri, M.A. Mir, has been doing rounds since the past few days as the Congress grappled for an effective counter to the BJP. IANS

No ticket to Ananth’s wife, BJP fields youth leader          

Bengaluru: In a surprise move, the BJP on Tuesday fielded party’s youth wing leader Tejaswi Surya from its bastion of Bangalore South from where the widow of union minister Ananth Kumar, a six-time MP from this prestigious Lok Sabha constituency, was denied the ticket. Ending the suspense with just hours left for the deadline for filing of nominations for the first phase of polls in Karnataka, the BJP central leadership announced the name of 28-year-old Surya, a lawyer and a member of the party’s national social media campaign team. Surya is the general secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP. Surya filed his nomination papers on Tuesday. PTI