MOLAKALMURU(CHITRADURGA): On Saturday, BJP Chief Ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan were on stage at a party rally in Molakalmuru. Nothing unusual. But what caught everyone’s attention was mining baron and former minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, who has been keeping a low profile ever since the mining scam broke seven years ago, sharing the dais with the party stalwarts, thus making a statement that the Reddy brothers are back in BJP in full force.
The party has given tickets to his two brothers Somashekhara Reddy and Karunakara Reddy. As if mocking BJP president Amit Shah’s recent remarks disowning him, Reddy hogged the limelight when party candidate and his close aide B Sriramulu went in a procession to file his nomination papers. During his trip to Mysuru, Shah denied Janardhana Reddy’s link with the party stating that he is not associated with the party.
This is the first time Yeddyurappa and other senior leaders publicly appeared on a party platform with Janardhana Reddy after he came out of jail on bail. Reddy even went to the extent of falling at Yeddyurappa’s feet and later hugged him in the presence of Shivaraj Singh Chouhan and other BJP leaders.
The Reddys who lost relevance during the 2013 assembly polls are trying hard to get a firm hold on Karnataka politics and BJP’s dependence on Sriramulu has come in handy.
BJP seems to have embraced Reddy as it is trying hard to win Karnataka in this elections. Reddy who landed in Molakalmuru on April 12 has campaigned during the last several days for the party and tried to bind the voters of the constituency, which is volatile since the refusal of the ticket to the sitting MLA S Thippeswamy.
Reddy is at the helm of the BJP campaign not only in Chitradurga but also in Ballari, Koppal and other parts of Karnataka where he has influence, according to party leaders. Reddy made it clear that he would actively campaign for the party and urged people to elect BJP.
Tainted mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy is here, there, everywhere asking people to vote for the BJP. Though party president Amit Shah recently said Reddy is not associated with the party, the Reddy brothers and Sriramulu had played an important role in the formation of the first-ever BJP government in Karnataka in 2008.
Janardhan Reddy, Karunakar Reddy and Sriramulu were ministers in the Yeddyurappa government. But the mining scam changed the political fortunes of the Reddy brothers. Janardhana Reddy was jailed and he is now out on bail. With the Supreme Court banning Janardhana Reddy from entering Ballari, Chitradurga is the ideal destination for him and Hanagal house is the hub of all the activities of BJP in Central Karnataka, which has 55 seats in the state assembly.
BJP’s hint of making Sriramulu as Deputy Chief Minister if the party comes to power has prompted Reddy to openly support BJP. Party insiders told The New Indian Express that Janardhana Reddy is very much a BJP man and he is working for the victory of the party candidates.