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Mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy. (Creative Commons)
Rumours are rife that mining baron and former BJP minister Gali Janardhana Reddy will contest either from the Gangavathi or Sindhanur constituency in the coming 2023 Karnataka Assembly election.
The 52-year-old Janardhan Reddy is currently out on bail in the illegal mining and Ponzi scam case, having spent three years in prison. He is also not allowed to enter his home district of Ballari.
Reddy recently purchased a house in Gangavathi town in Koppal district, which adjoins Ballari. This has led to a buzz in political circles that he will contest the Assembly election from there.
“I have stayed away from politics for the past 14 years. I plan to spend the rest of my life in Gangavathi and also take up social work,” Reddy told reporters at Koppal, even as he deftly sidestepped political questions.
The speculation has not gone down well with Paranna Munavalli, the BJP leader and current Gangavathi MLA. South First learns that Paranna has rushed to New Delhi to meet the party’s central leaders, including National General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santosh, to press his claim on the constituency.
Janardhana Reddy, too, has powerful backers in the BJP. Former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, who recently attended the naming ceremony of Reddy’s graddaughter in Bengaluru, said, rather cryptically, that “Reddy will remain in the BJP. He will be welcomed to the party once he comes clean”.
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