New Delhi: It is Bellary trouble for the BJP again. Since 2004, Bellary and the BJP have been inseparable in Karnataka politics. It is common knowledge that the BJP came to power on its own in the South of Vindhyas for the first time because of the money and muscle power of the Bellary Reddy brothers. The infamous Reddy brothers of Bellary helped the BJP to win at least 25-30 more seats in the 2008 elections. The BS Yeddyurappa government was known as Reddyurappa government in Karnataka. It is ironic that the same Bellary Reddys destroyed the same BJP government in just three years.
Their high-handedness, scant respect for the law, their arrogance, their over ambition and above all their illegal mining of iron ore not only spoiled the image of the BJP government in the state, but also the image of the BJP national leadership.
In late 2011, chief of Bellary Reddys gang and a minister, G Janardhana Reddy, was arrested by the CBI and sent to jail. He is still in jail. His elder brother G Karunakara Reddy was forced to quit. He lost the 2013 assembly polls on the BJP ticket. His younger brother G Somashekara Reddy was arrested by the anti-corruption bureau of the Andhra Pradesh for bribing a judge for his brother's bail. He was also in jail for sometime and now out on bail.
Their close confidante B Sriramulu, who was also a minister in the BJP government, walked out of the BJP to form his own party the BSR Congress in 2012. His party miserably lost the elections by winning just four assembly seats in the 2013 May elections.
He tried to merge his party with the Congress. According to some reports certain leaders in state Congress were in support of him. But, the high command refused to take his party into the Congress fearing that it would create more trouble in future. Finally, Sriramulu managed to clinch a deal with the BJP. Former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa's return to the BJP also strengthened his case. Even though he has nothing to do with Yeddyurappa, his return gave a chance to Sriramulu backers in the BJP to convince the BJP central leadership to take him back.
Sriramulu is a tribal leader. The BJP hopes that he can get them ST votes in some parts of the state and help them in winning 3-4 Lok Sabha seats. Reddys could not merge the BSR Congress with the BJP after leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj publicly opposed it, last week. She has once again tweeted that the BJP has allowed Sriramulu to return home despite her stiff opposition.
It is a fact that Sushma Swaraj started maintaining a distance with the Reddy brothers after 2010. She stopped visiting Bellary for the Vara Mahalakshmi Pooja and even stopped meeting Reddy brothers after 2010. Sushma Swaraj, who unsuccessfully fought against Sonia Gandhi from Bellary in 1999 Lok Sabha polls, had maintained her links with the people of Bellary even after the defeat. According to some BJP insiders the recklessness of the Reddy brothers and constant name dropping to cover up their activities had angered her so much and she stopped entertaining them. When the Reddys were thrown out of the state Cabinet in 2011, she remained neutral and refused to bail them out.
After the Reddys left the BJP, the Karnataka BJP and its national leadership had publicly stated that the party was clean and purified. They went to assembly elections in 2013 with the slogan 'vote for the BJP minus Reddys and Yeddys'.
The same Reddys close confidante is back in the BJP after two years. The BJP is defending his return by giving the example of Lalu - Congress tie up. But, it has not gone down well with many BJP workers in Karnataka. They are complaining that the BJP is back to its 2008 position and has lost its credibility once again. They argue that taking Sriramulu back despite Sushma Swaraj's stiff opposition may cost the party dearly in many other parts.
Sriramulu backers are maintaining that he is not facing any case and his association with Reddy brothers can't be the reason for treating him like an untouchable. The BJP has taken a risk by taking him back into the party. Will it benefit from this game? Wait till May 16.
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