Reddy brothers return to politics with seven BJP tickets for kin

Janaradhana Reddy’s close aide B. Sriramulu is speculated to be a contender for the deputy Chief Minister’s post if the BJP returns to power.

The seizure of Rs 4.01 crore in cash and 6.5 kg of gold by the Income Tax authorities in Mysuru on Friday didn’t come as a surprise to many, given the fact that this was just two days after the Wednesday raids on 11 contractors in Karnataka that saw Rs 6.76 crore of money recovered.

The Election Commission said in a statement that the total cash seizure from the date of announcement of model code of conduct till Friday stood at Rs 46.78 crore, more than what was seized together during the 2013 Assembly elections and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in the state. In addition the commission has seized liquor and gold valued at over Rs 100 cr.

Money has traditionally played a crucial role in Karnataka. In the 1970s and 1980s it were the rich sugar barons from North Karnataka who decided the state polity. But later the real estate boom in the 1990s saw the real estate barons from Bengaluru make political entry and emerge as the kingmakers in the state politics.

However, what changed state politics was the emergence of the “Bellary Republic”. The rise in iron ore price after China’s mining ban in 2003 saw the fortunes of Bellary region change and led to the emergence of new brand of miners who made thousands of crores of rupees. The emergence of politicians like the Reddys and the Lads changed the course and character of Karnataka politics. While uncontrolled mining has stopped for nearly a decade after the Supreme Court ban, its financial side-effects are coming out in the open yet again during election time.

The mining barons are all set for fighting pitched battles to ensure their dominance in state politics. Mining barons cutting across party lines are making their presence felt in nearly 40 seats.

This time around it’s civil contractors who are under the scanner, especially those who participated in government tenders in the Public Works Department (PWD). Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s key aide and PWD Minister H.C. Mahadevappa was the first one to feel the heat as most contractors raided were linked to his ministry. Some in the Congress even hinted that the party was being targeted and that the seizures were being selectively carried out.

The I-T department hinted at the hoarding of huge amounts of cash by these contractors as one of the reasons for the severe cash crunch at ATMs in the poll-bound state. “Hoarding of cash by contractors at a time when cash shortage was reported in some areas raises troubling questions. The bulk of the seizure was made from lockers of benami accounts,’’ an I-T official told The Sunday Guardian. The efforts have blocked cash flow and money distribution by politicians in the present polls. Several candidates are thinking of different methods to woo the voters by paying them cash. A few voters in north Karnataka, the sugar heartland, are discovering their accounts getting credited with small cash loans of Rs 2,0003,000 by cooperative bank owners which will get waived if the candidate wins. While some voters in urban areas are getting their month’s grocery at their doorsteps for free. Janaradhana Reddy’s younger brother G. Somashekhara Reddy’s name in the first list of candidates declared by the BJP in Karnatka may have raised a few eyebrows but certainly didn’t ring any alarm bells. Somashekhara Reddy had been given the ticket from Bellary city.

But it was the second and third lists of candidates declared by the party that led to a media frenzy. Reddy’s Man Friday B. Sriramulu was given ticket from two seats— Molakalmuru and Badami (in a direct fight with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah)— and Reddy’s relatives Sanna Fakeerappa, Lallesh Reddy and Suresh Babu were also accommodated as candidates. His elder brother G. Karunakara Reddy has also been given ticket from Harapanahalli, attracting stories from the press which described the development as the “return of the Reddy brothers”.

It is for the first time that seven members from the Reddy clan are in the race for becoming MLAs. The decision made even many BJP leaders uncomfortable, but since the decision was taken by the central leadership none questioned it.

However, AICC general secretary Ashish Dua told The Sunday Guardian that “The Reddy brothers played a big role in making the Yeddyurappa government corrupt and in bringing disrepute to Karnataka. By giving them tickets and making them their brand ambassadors in Karnataka in 2018 , the BJP has proven its disrespect for the Kannadigas.”

The question everyone is asking is what makes Janardhana Reddy so powerful. It’s definitely not the money power alone, especially since most of the known bank accounts of the Reddy family have been frozen and other assets have been attached by the CBI during its ongoing investigation into the mining scams which surfaced after Justice Santosh Hegde, Lokayukta, submitted his report.

Given the cases and the charges, Janradhan Reddy has emerged even stronger politically. After spending almost four years in jail as an under-trial, Janardhana Reddy has not only managed to come out, but call the shots in the state unit of the party.

The Sunday Guardian learnt that a few months ago after getting some relief in the cases against him and coming out of jail, Janardhana Reddy declared before his inner circle that it was now a personal battle between him and Siddaramaiah and that he would “teach him a lesson” in the next Assembly elections.

The whispers in the party circle are that B. Sriramulu is being pitched as a deputy Chief Minister in case the party comes back to power in the state.

Political analysts in the state feel that the split in the Lingayat votes, which is an outcome of the Congress advocating their separate religion demand, has reduced the capability of former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to bring the party back to power. It is this reason that prompted the BJP to rely on the Reddy brothers to achieve its goal. The Reddy brothers enjoy a lot of clout in Bellary, Chitradurga, Gadagand, Raichur districts. Bellary MP B. Sriramulu, who merged his BSR Congress party with BJP a year back, is a popular leader among the Scheduled Tribes. It’s his influence which can help the BJP in 15-20 seats. With cine-star turned politician and BJP MP from Patna Sahib, Shatrughan Sinha, exploring options in Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, leaders of the Kayastha community have started eyeing the constituency ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Bihar’s Patna Sahib constituency is dominated by voters belonging to Kayastha community. Shatrughan Sinha has been winning the seat for two consecutive terms ever since it was created after delimitation. Before delimitation, the Patna Lok Sabha constituency mostly remained with either the BJP or the RJD.

Sources said the way Sinha has been attacking his own party, the BJP leadership is unlikely to give him a ticket in 2019. The Bihari babu, they said, has held talks with Lalu and his son Tejashwi Yadav and it is believed that he may join the RJD.

“Since Kayastha voters play a decisive role in Patna Sahib, even Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, also from the same community, earlier wanted to contest from there. However, he was recently re-elected for the Rajya Sabha from Bihar. Following this, other Kayastha leaders have started nurturing the constituency,” said a source. According to estimates, there are more than 4 lakh Kayastha voters in Patna Sahib.

A Bihar BJP source said Kayasthas have traditionally been with the BJP and Shatrughan Sinha being from the community added to his electoral performance. However, now a majority of the voters of his constituency are not happy with the way he has been targeting the BJP leadership. “He is a rebel, who is not leaving the party on his own. If he contests elections from RJD, the Kayastha votes will not get transferred. Kayasthas are unlikely to vote for an RJD candidate,” he said.

With Ravi Shankar Prasad out of the race, other Kayastha leaders like Rituraj Sinha (BJP) and Ranbir Nandan ( JDU) have emerged as the front-runners. Rituraj Sinha is the son of Rajya Sabha MP from BJP, R.K. Sinha. Rituraj is a secretary in the Bihar BJP. However, Rituraj is mostly known as a business professional who is looking after his father’s security company, Security and Intelligence Services (SIS). He is not much active politically.

However, the source said, Ranbir Nandan, a JDU MLC, is also eying the constituency. “Nandan has been with the BJP, ABVP in the past. However, he was not ‘rewarded’ in the BJP and Nitish Kumar took him to JDU and made him MLC. A former Patna University Students’ Union general secretary, Nandan has a good hold in the constituency and among the Kaysathas as well as other communities. Since JDU is now a part of the NDA, the party may ask for the Patna Sahib seat from the BJP,” said a source.

Nandan, interestingly, was the election in-charge of the constituency when Shatrughan Sinha won the seat for the first time in 2009. There are other leaders like Nitin Navin and Arun Sinha—MLAs from Bankipur and Kumharar Assembly constituencies, respectively, falling under Patna Sahib. However, according to sources, their influence is limited to their respective Assembly constituencies.

Shatrughan Sinha has been at odds with the BJP for a long time for being “sidelined”. He has been criticising his party on many issues, including demonetisation and GST. He even dared the party leadership to take action against him. Sources said he is hobnobbing with the RJD and may contest the next elections under it.