Final Up to date: March 25, 2024, 17:11 IST
Karnataka MLA and mining baron Janardhana Reddy. (PTI File Picture)
This merger with the BJP marks Reddy’s return to the Hindutva celebration for the second time. He beforehand served as a state minister in Yediyurappa’s cupboard in 2008
Karnataka MLA and mining baron Janardhana Reddy merged his Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha (KRPP) celebration with the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) on Monday. Describing it as a “homecoming,” Reddy mentioned that the merger aimed to “strengthen Narendra Modi’s management and assist his third time period as Prime Minister.”
Accompanied by his spouse, Aruna Lakshmi, Reddy joined the saffron celebration forward of the Lok Sabha elections, within the presence of BJP chief and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, alongside together with his son, the state unit chief BY Vijayendra. Reddy had not too long ago met Union Residence Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
“BJP was all the time there in my blood, however as a consequence of some causes I had gone out, however right now I really feel I’ve come again to my mom’s lap. my brothers right here, I don’t really feel like I’m coming again to the BJP workplace after 13 years,” he expressed.
Probe into unlawful mining and corruption
The Gangavathi MLA, caught in a number of investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into unlawful mining and corruption, based the Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha in 2022, severing ties with the BJP after a two-decade affiliation.
Regardless of dealing with authorized challenges, Reddy triumphed within the Gangavathi Meeting constituency through the 2023 Karnataka elections, rising as the only real chief from his celebration to safe a seat within the Meeting. Nonetheless, his brothers, G Karunakara Reddy and G Somashekara Reddy, who additionally contested the polls as BJP candidates, had been defeated.
This merger with the BJP marks Reddy’s return to the Hindutva celebration for the second time. He beforehand served as a state minister in Yediyurappa’s cupboard in 2008 earlier than dealing with imprisonment in 2011 on expenses of unlawful mining. He was granted bail in 2015.
Within the lead-up to the 2018 meeting polls, the then BJP nationwide president Amit Shah, in response to a reporter’s question, had distanced the celebration from Reddy, asserting that “the BJP has no affiliation with Janardhana Reddy.”
Reddy remained politically inactive for practically 12 years after his arrest by the CBI in reference to a mining scandal. Nonetheless, he briefly re-entered the political scene forward of the 2018 meeting polls, campaigning for his shut ally and former Minister B Sriramulu within the Molakalmuru Meeting section.
Going through expenses in a multi-crore unlawful mining case, the apex courtroom imposed a number of restrictions, together with a ban on his visits to Ballari in Karnataka and Ananthpur and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh, which compelled him to contest the 2023 Meeting polls from Gangavathi in Koppal district.
Ties with Congress
Though there have been speculations about Reddy’s assist for the Congress within the current Rajya Sabha elections, he has denied any such claims, attributing them to media hypothesis.
Based on BJP insiders, Reddy’s KRPP could not safe victories within the elections however might affect the Opposition celebration’s prospects within the Ballari, Bagalkot, and Koppal areas, reported The Indian Categorical.
Within the 2023 Meeting elections, the Congress secured victories in 5 out of the seven seats in Bagalkot district, all 5 in Ballari district, and three out of the 5 seats in Koppal district. BJP analysts imagine that the KRPP’s presence divided votes, aiding the Congress in its wins.
