Gali Janardhan Reddy Merges KRPP with BJP, Boosts Party's Influence in North Karnataka
26 March 2024 12:03 AM IST
Gali Janardhan Reddy with Home Minister Amit Shah. (Image: Twitter)
BENGALURU: Former Minister and founder of Kalyana Rajya Pragthi Paksha, Gali Janardhan Reddy, merged his party with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday. The party, floated by Reddy, had contested a couple of Assembly seats in the 2023 polls in Karnataka, winning a lone seat.
Reddy joined the BJP in the presence of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and State BJP Unit President B.Y. Vijayendra in Bengaluru. Reddy had floated Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha in December 2022 after the BJP denied tickets to ‘tainted’ leaders for the 2023 Assembly polls. It may be recalled that Gali Janardhan Reddy was jailed for illegal mining activities and spent about 3 years behind bars before being released on bail.
While Janardhan Reddy won from the Gangavathi Assembly seat in 2023 in Koppal district, his wife, Aruna Lakshmi, lost the Ballari Assembly seat, where her brother-in-law Gali Somashekar Reddy contested as the BJP nominee. Gali Somashekar Reddy also lost the Ballari seat. After joining the BJP, Janardhan Reddy told reporters, “It was like a lost son reunited with his mother.”
As an MLC, Reddy served as Minister for Tourism during the BJP rule in 2007 and played a key role in the BJP forming the Government in Karnataka with B.S. Yediyurappa as the Chief Minister. Reddy also persuaded several MLAs from opposition parties, including the Congress party and the Janata Dal Secular, to switch their loyalties to help the BJP form the State Government.
After he was jailed in an illegal mining case in 2011, Reddy directed his close aide and former Minister B. Sreeramulu to float the Badavara Shramikara Raitara Congress Party, but the party did not succeed. Later, the party merged with the BJP in 2014.
Reddy’s close associate and former minister, B. Sreeramulu, who is the BJP nominee for the Ballari Lok Sabha seat, told reporters that he welcomed Reddy's rejoining and stated that he was ‘pained’ after Reddy distanced himself from the BJP.
BJP leader and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that the rejoining of Janardhan Reddy has added strength to the BJP, as he has his own influence in north Karnataka, which will benefit the party in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.
While Janardhan Reddy won from the Gangavathi Assembly seat in 2023 in Koppal district, his wife, Aruna Lakshmi, lost the Ballari Assembly seat, where her brother-in-law Gali Somashekar Reddy contested as the BJP nominee. Gali Somashekar Reddy also lost the Ballari seat. After joining the BJP, Janardhan Reddy told reporters, “It was like a lost son reunited with his mother.”
As an MLC, Reddy served as Minister for Tourism during the BJP rule in 2007 and played a key role in the BJP forming the Government in Karnataka with B.S. Yediyurappa as the Chief Minister. Reddy also persuaded several MLAs from opposition parties, including the Congress party and the Janata Dal Secular, to switch their loyalties to help the BJP form the State Government.
After he was jailed in an illegal mining case in 2011, Reddy directed his close aide and former Minister B. Sreeramulu to float the Badavara Shramikara Raitara Congress Party, but the party did not succeed. Later, the party merged with the BJP in 2014.
Reddy’s close associate and former minister, B. Sreeramulu, who is the BJP nominee for the Ballari Lok Sabha seat, told reporters that he welcomed Reddy's rejoining and stated that he was ‘pained’ after Reddy distanced himself from the BJP.
BJP leader and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that the rejoining of Janardhan Reddy has added strength to the BJP, as he has his own influence in north Karnataka, which will benefit the party in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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