Last Updated: March 25, 2024, 17:11 IST
Karnataka MLA and mining baron Janardhana Reddy. (PTI File Photo)
This merger with the BJP marks Reddy’s return to the Hindutva party for the second time. He previously served as a state minister in Yediyurappa’s cabinet in 2008
Karnataka MLA and mining baron Janardhana Reddy merged his Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha (KRPP) party with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday. Describing it as a “homecoming,” Reddy said that the merger aimed to “strengthen Narendra Modi’s leadership and support his third term as Prime Minister.”
Accompanied by his wife, Aruna Lakshmi, Reddy joined the saffron party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, in the presence of BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, along with his son, the state unit chief BY Vijayendra. Reddy had recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
“BJP was always there in my blood, but due to some reasons I had gone out, but today I feel I have come back to my mother’s lap. Looking at my brothers here, I don’t feel like I’m coming back to the BJP office after 13 years,” he expressed.
Probe into illegal mining and corruption
The Gangavathi MLA, caught in several investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into illegal mining and corruption, founded the Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha in 2022, severing ties with the BJP after a two-decade association.
Despite facing legal challenges, Reddy triumphed in the Gangavathi Assembly constituency during the 2023 Karnataka elections, emerging as the sole leader from his party to secure a seat in the Assembly. However, his brothers, G Karunakara Reddy and G Somashekara Reddy, who also contested the polls as BJP candidates, were defeated.
This merger with the BJP marks Reddy’s return to the Hindutva party for the second time. He previously served as a state minister in Yediyurappa’s cabinet in 2008 before facing imprisonment in 2011 on charges of illegal mining. He was granted bail in 2015.
In the lead-up to the 2018 assembly polls, the then BJP national president Amit Shah, in response to a reporter’s query, had distanced the party from Reddy, asserting that “the BJP has no association with Janardhana Reddy.”
Reddy remained politically inactive for nearly 12 years after his arrest by the CBI in connection with a mining scandal. However, he briefly re-entered the political scene ahead of the 2018 assembly polls, campaigning for his close ally and former Minister B Sriramulu in the Molakalmuru Assembly segment.
Facing charges in a multi-crore illegal mining case, the apex court imposed several restrictions, including a ban on his visits to Ballari in Karnataka and Ananthpur and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh, which compelled him to contest the 2023 Assembly polls from Gangavathi in Koppal district.
Ties with Congress
Although there have been speculations about Reddy’s support for the Congress in the recent Rajya Sabha elections, he has denied any such claims, attributing them to media speculation.
According to BJP insiders, Reddy’s KRPP may not secure victories in the elections but could influence the Opposition party’s prospects in the Ballari, Bagalkot, and Koppal regions, reported The Indian Express.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress secured victories in five out of the seven seats in Bagalkot district, all five in Ballari district, and three out of the five seats in Koppal district. BJP analysts believe that the KRPP’s presence divided votes, aiding the Congress in its wins.