Scams be damned, BJP falls back on the mining barons to win back state
CAST ASIDE by the BJP five years ago after their names surfaced in India’s biggest mining scam, the Reddy brothers of Ballari are back in the thick of things in Karnataka. They seem to be calling the shots for the saffron party in the assembly polls, even fielding confidant B. Sriramulu against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Badami seat in Bagalkot district after the party failed to find a challenger.
It’s clearly been difficult for the BJP to part company with the powerful mining magnates who bankrolled the party’s first victory in Karnataka in 2008. Besides nominating brothers G. Karunakara Reddy and G. Somashekhara Reddy, the party has given the Reddy clan five more assembly tickets in their iron ore-rich bastions of Ballari and Chitradurga. The saffron leadership, however, insists it has no ties with G. Janardhana Reddy, the middle sibling who spent three years (2011-2015) in jail on charges of illegal mining.
This story is from the May 14, 2018 edition of India Today.
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This story is from the May 14, 2018 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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