Reddy brothers back in BJP fold, with Amit Shah's blessing?

Bengaluru: Former BJP MP and tainted mining czar of Ballari Gali Janardhan Reddy reclaimed his foothold in the saffron party with seven of his clan members being fielded in the forthcoming Assembly elections with the blessings of the top echelons of the BJP including party president Amit Shah, who very recently had publicly disowned him, high level sources said. Janardhan Reddy was incarcerated for over 40 months before being enlarged on bail for his involvedment in several illegal mining cases in Karnataka.

Informed sources said it was Shah, who had to take a last minute decision to get the Reddys back on the BJP centre-stage after an internal survey showed that the party would draw a near blank in the critical Hyderabad-Karnataka region, where the Reddys had considerable political, monetary and muscle clout. “Shah, who is overseeing Karnataka elections was told that the party’s chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa’s ‘magic’ was not working in the rest of the state, and may not get the party enough number of votes to get to the winning mark," the source said. 

"Added to that was the threat by the Reddysto join the Congress if they were not entertained by the BJP. If they had joined the Congress, the BJP would have lost 10 to 12 seats in a closely contested election," the source said.     

"There was no option but to welcome the Reddys back in the fold. Shah took a calculated risk. The decision has shocked many party leaders and may adversely impact the party’s chances of making a comeback in the State on an anti-corruption platform,” said the sources.

Janardhana Reddy’s younger brother G. Somashekhara Reddy is being fielded from Ballari city. His right hand man and popular leader among the Scheduled Tribe - Boya Sriramulu – is contesting from Molakalmuru and in Badami against incumbent CM Siddaramaiah, his elder brother Karunakar  Reddy is contesting the Assembly election from Harapanahalli, his relative  - Lallesh Reddy will face Home Minister R. Ramalinga Reddy from BTM Layout in Bengaluru city, Sanna Fakeerappa from Raichur and Suresh Babu from a constituency in Ballari. Janardhan Reddy had reportedly spent over Rs 500 crore for his daughter, Brahmani’s wedding in Bengaluru in November 2016, which had drawn the attention of the Income Tax Department, who had served him notice to explain the source of money.