BJP seeks to strengthens base with mining baron-turned-politician Gali Janardhana Reddy's return

Bengaluru, March 27: With the return of mining baron-turned-politician Gali Janardhana Reddy to the BJP after over a decade, the party is hoping to further consolidate its base in Karnataka, especially in the Kalyan Karnataka region.

Reddy, the sitting MLA from the Gangavathi seat, had merged his Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha (KRPP) with the BJP. The move is seen as galvanising the party workers in Bellary, Gadag, Raichur, Koppal, Vijayanagar, and Kalaburagi districts.

In the previous Assembly elections, the Congress had won all five seats in Bellary, four out of six in Koppal, three of five seats in Vijayanagar, six out of seven in Kalaburagi, and two of four seats in Gadag.

Former minister B. Sriramulu and many other political heavyweights from the region had lost.

After the declaration of Sriramulu as the BJP candidate for the Bellary Lok Sabha seat, the BJP realised that the Reddy factor would cost the party dearly.

Welcoming the leader, former CM B.S. Yediyurappa had stated that the BJP will be significantly strengthened after Reddy’s joining.

"We will utilise his services in the coming days appropriately. We are happy with the joining of Reddy. He has come to the party accepting the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and with the aim of helping the BJP win in all Parliamentary seats," he said.

Janardhana Reddy came to prominence in state politics under the patronage of BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj, when she contested against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for the Parliamentary election in 1999 from Bellary constituency. He played an important role in installing the BJP government under the leadership of former Yediyurappa in 2008.

However, differences soon cropped up between Yediyurappa and Reddy. In 2010, Reddy was jailed and only released from prison after three and a half years. Meanwhile, the BJP central leadership and his mentor, Sushma Swaraj maintained their distance and it was assumed that it was the end of Reddy's political career.

However, Reddy was in the news in 2016 for the lavish wedding of his daughter in Bengaluru. It was alleged that he had spent Rs 550 crore on the wedding during the times of demonetisation. The BJP had informally advised party leaders and central ministers not to attend the wedding.

Reddy’s latest political move to join hands with former CM Yediyurappa has surprised many as he had supported the Congress candidate during the Rajya Sabha election recently. Sources say that the BJP leadership was concerned over the impact of guarantee schemes implemented by the Congress government. Since the region is predominantly backward, it was assumed that the voters might tilt towards Congress. However, with the return of Reddy, the party is hoping to reach out to the voters