BALLARI: The BJP top brass is making various attempts to rekindle good relations between estranged friends and party colleagues, former minister B Sriramulu and Gangavathi MLA Gali Janardhan Reddy.
The two senior leaders, who were once close, have distanced themselves from each other over the last few years. Meanwhile, with the Ballari District Congress leadership also grappling with internal squabbles, the BJP has moved forward with normalising ties between Reddy and Sriramulu. Union minister V Sommanna, who was in Ballari recently, also asked Reddy and Sriramulu to visit New Delhi together. After Reddy formed his own party, Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha, even as some business-related issues crept in, relations between him and Sriramulu only soured further. Reddy allegedly passed statements on Sriramulu’s health, much to the chagrin of the latter, while Sriramulu reportedly called Reddy “a selfish and corrupt politician”. Subsequently, Reddy’s reinduction into the BJP fold caused confusion among the party cadre in the district, said a political analyst.
Meanwhile, BJP state president BY Vijayendra, Union minister Pralhad Joshi and many others have all been trying to get them to talk again, with the aim that the duo can once again script electoral gains for the BJP in Ballari, but in vain. The efforts of Reddy and Sriramulu had proved very beneficial for the saffron party, especially during the tenure of BS Yediyurappa as CM. The analyst said that Reddy and Sriramulu are not as close as they once used to be. However, their misunderstandings could have a negative impact on BJP’s prospects in the district, as was seen during both the recent assembly as well as general elections.