Dissident seeks to wreck Reddy’s political return

district is a part of what looks like endless flatlands of Central Karnataka. About four kilometres from Molkalmuru in the arid plains of Chitradurga district, a bus with the picture of B Sriramulu, the BJP’s candidate from the assembly constituency for the May 12 polls, stands next to a farm.

Upon entering the compound, three buildings, as dusty as the surroundings they are in, make way for a bungalow in the back, completely hidden from view from the highway. A crowd of 300 is waiting near this house, most of them standing outside in the garden under the scorching peak summer sun. A few others are waiting inside near a staircase guarded by three bouncers, who ward off the impatient.

All these people are waiting to meet the leader of the BJP campaign in Molkalmuru, not Sriramulu, his mentor G Janardhana Reddy. At about 4 pm, Reddy comes out of his room on the first floor and heads, along with the crowd, to the garden where he is scheduled to participate in an interview. Over the past few months, Reddy has been living in this rented bungalow because the SC has banned him from entering Ballari district. Sitting about 10 km from the district border, Reddy has decided to manage the Sriramulu campaign, as the latter has been made the tribal mascot of the party’s campaign across the state.

A bevvy of leaders is waiting to meet Reddy, because it is nomination day, Sriramulu had earlier on Saturday filed his nomination, accompanied (BSRCP which later merged into BJP) by Reddy, BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa and MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. BJP leaders explained that Sriramulu had been shifted from the Ballari Rural to Molkalmuru seat, both reserved for candidates from Schedule Tribe communities, because of the higher percentage of STs in the constituency. According to Election Commission data, 37% of Molkalmuru’s population is made of tribals. However, a local leader, who did not wish to be named, said the decision was highly influenced by the fact that Reddy was there.

However, the BJP faces a tough challenge here because its incumbent legislator, S Thippeswamy, has vowed to defeat Sriramulu, angered by the party’s decision to not field him from the constituency. “Both Yeddyurappa and Sriramulu had promised me the ticket. They are liars, the pair of them, and Sriramulu has decided to loot this taluk, the same way he looted Ballari along with Reddy,” Thippeswamy said, adding that he would contest as an independent. “I will definitely defeat Sriramulu, maybe then he will know the price of betrayal.”

However, Reddy has been able to pull off a coup himself, having got the senior Congress leader NY Gopalkrishna who had won the seat in 2008, to defect to the BJP. “When the Congress humiliated me, it was Reddy, who came to my house and showed me humanity,” Gopalakrishna said.

Sanna Papaiah, a farmer who lives just outside Molkalmuru, which has a population of 15,000, says the main problem is acute drinking water shortage. “I don’t want to hear them talk about how they were betrayed. Look at these people, they are shifting parties with abandon,” he said.

“Last time, Thippeswamy and Sriramulu asked us to vote for them because the BJP had betrayed them and they had formed the Badavara Shramikara Raithara Congress. Now, Thippeswamy says he has been betrayed by Sriramulu. I want to ask these leaders, where the water to feed the 10 goats I have?” Papaiah asks. Local farmer leader Karianna says because Dalits and tribals form a majority in the constituency, about 58% according to the election commission, the area has been neglected.

MOLKALMURU:Chitradurga