 In March 2019, Sumalatha announced that she would be contesting as an independent candidate in the 2019 Indian general election in Karnataka (Lok Sabha) from Mandya.She was backed by big stars from the Kannada Film Industry like Darshan, Yash, Rockline Venkatesh, Doddanna.Bharatiya Janata Party decided not to field a candidate in Mandya in efforts to support her.