Bengaluru, Mar 25: Former Karnataka Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy on Monday rejoined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Gangavati MLA, who is an accused in an illegal mining case, had formed the 'Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha' (KRPP) ahead of the state assembly polls last year, snapping his two-decade-old association with the BJP.
Reddy today merged his KRPP with the BJP as he, along with wife Aruna Lakshmi and some family members, joined the party in the presence of its veteran leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, state President B Y Vijayendra, and others.
Reddy had recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
However, in the February 27 Rajya Sabha polls he had extended support to the Congress candidate.
Calling it a "home coming", Reddy explained that the move to merge KRPP with the BJP is to "make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister a third time".
"Amit Shah had invited me to Delhi and told me that -- there is no question of extending outside support (KRPP supporting BJP in LS polls) and instead I should join the BJP and work for it, as I took my political birth in the party. Accepting it, I'm joining the party," he said.
Praising Yediyurappa and the leader's contribution in his political growth, Reddy said he is happy that he will be working in the party now with the veteran leader's son Vijayendra.
"I will work as a common party worker along with other leaders under the leadership of Vijayendra. I have not come with any conditions or expectations. Whatever responsibility the party gives me, I will honestly work.
"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 added.
Welcoming Reddy back into the party, Vijayendra said his joining will strengthen BJP in the Kalyana Karnataka region.
"Liking Narendra Modi's leadership and accepting BJP's ideology, Reddy has rejoined the party. Reddy has said that Karnataka should have a larger contribution in making Modi PM once again -- to ensure that BJP and JD(S) alliance win all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, he is merging his KRPP with BJP and is joining the party," he said.
Before the assembly polls last year, Reddy had been largely politically inactive for nearly 12 years since his arrest by the CBI for an alleged role in a mining scam. During this period, he had a brief stint ahead of the 2018 assembly polls when he campaigned for his close friend and former Minister B Sriramulu in Molakalmuru Assembly segment.
In the run up to the 2018 assembly polls, the then BJP national president Amit Shah, in response to a reporter's question, had distanced the party from him and stressed that "the BJP has nothing to do with Janardhana Reddy." Accused in a multi-crore illegal mining case, he has been out on bail since 2015. Several conditions were imposed by the top court in its order which includes prohibiting him from visiting Ballari in Karnataka and Ananthpur and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.
Because of these restrictions, he had to contest the 2023 Assembly polls from Gangavati in Koppal district.
Expressing his displeasure about the way BJP had ignored him, Reddy had announced a new party last year and also took a dig at his brothers -- Karunakara Reddy and Somashekar Reddy -- and Sriramulu, as they remained with the BJP.
The three of them had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls, with Reddy's new party said to have impacted their performance in the election.
Sriramulu, a ST community leader and former Minister is now the BJP's candidate from the Bellary (Ballari) Lok Sabha constituency.
Reddy had played an instrumental role in strengthening the BJP in the Ballari district and is still believed to enjoy a considerable clout there as well as in adjoining districts like Chitradurga, Koppal and Raichur, which could be useful for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, managing director of Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC), were arrested by the CBI on September 5, 2011.
The company is accused of changing mining lease boundary markings and indulging in illegal mining in the Ballari Reserve Forest area, spread over Ballari in Karnataka and the Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh.
Reddy first came to political limelight during the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, when he campaigned for BJP leader, the late Sushma Swaraj, who had contested against Congress' Sonia Gandhi from Ballari.
Former Congress Minister T John's son Thomas John also joined the BJP today.
Comments
Change attitude....don't blame your chaddi.....by the way from now on private parts will not be visible when they sit.....thank god
Along with the dress, change the mentality
Anyone noticed the pic? 2 persons holding one chaddi~pant. see their hands. LOL
Uniform of the Terrorists, Deshdrohis and Gaddars
Inspired by super tiger cadres of patriotic P.O.P.U.L.A.R. F.R.O.N.T O.F I.N.D.I.A (PFI)
Hey RSS you will never be able to over come an INDIAN PATRIOTIC ORGANIZATION WHICH HAS FULL STRENGTH TO COUNTER YOU
chaddi nahi soch badlo swayamsevakon soch badlo.
CHADDI NAHI SOCH BADLO....
Thank God for changing that JAMBULI CHADDI. Feel awkward to see people with that half chaddi. BUt the label will remain the same Chaddis. Its very easy to call.
Beggars, labor-class and low grade RSS members will wear pants..? will it not look odd for them, they are only fit to wear chaddi beyond that they cannot
Discount Sale buy one get one free??? Master Narean Bai could you check any market in your Snake Land? at least give your Criminal Lotters goons get some jobs. Good luck Narean, be happy Nowadays no good progress of your team. next change better Introduce Toub or Burakini in white colour is good for your goons.
Jai Hind
Jia Hoo Modianna.
Wear Khaki it is easy to join with police force, already 60% police force is RSS it will became 100% and enjoy the life with full of Goondagardi
This is not good for chaddies....they will lose their identity......
Govt should set up a special team to check these trousers before they reach the individuals. These days RSS are workers widely involving in anti-social and terror activities. They may hide something inside these trousers.
Good we are spared of the sickening sight of seeing men like Gadkari in their chaddis, hope the government will also take a lesson in changing the uniforms of our lady cops and hospital nurses, a simple change of not tucking their shirts in is all that is needed
Will this change of attire (borrowed from the British Home Guards) change the anti-democratic-secular ideology of RSS too? It hates everything which symbolizes an all-inclusive India. Take the example of our National Flag; Tricolour. The RSS English mouthpiece ORGANIZER demeaning the choice of the National Flag just on the eve of Independence ((14 August 1947)) wrote: \The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the Tricolour but it never be respected and owned by Hindus. The word three is in itself an evil, and a flag having three colours will certainly produce a very bad psychological effect and is injurious to a country.\" When will RSS learn to respect a democratic-secular India?"
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