A large group of supporters had gathered at a house in Islampur in Karnataka’s Gangavathi knowing that mining-baron-turned-politician Gali Janardhana Reddy was visiting a friend’s home. Reddy walked out and greeted them and led them to the lawn outside the house. He asked everyone to be seated and soon, a strategy meeting began after the initial exchange of pleasantries. Several similar groups of people from various districts were also waiting outside Reddy’s house to meet their leader.
Speaking to TNM about why he decided to launch the Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha (KRPP) party after severing ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Reddy said he had his own dreams for this region and for the entire Karnataka. “Equality and social justice will be the main ideology of the party. From my young days I have been into public life. I have started the party because I have my own dreams and plans for this region and entire Karnataka.”
“I started the party only in December, it has been only four months now. KRPP will be contesting 47 seats in total and we may get around 25 seats,” Reddy said.
Asked whether the BJP did not stand by him when he was in trouble because of the allegations of corruption against him, Reddy said, “I did not come out of the BJP, the BJP left me. When I was in trouble, they did not even make a statement. They have no gratitude for any of the BJP leaders.”
Reddy is accused of involvement in illegal mining of iron ore in Karnataka’s Ballari and Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur and of defrauding the government. Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde had in his 2011 report revealed in detail the extent of the large-scale irreversible degradation of the environment, the losses, and scandals in the mining belt by Janardhana Reddy and his brothers, Somasekhara Reddy and Karunakara Reddy. When Reddy was at the peak in his political career, he and his brothers and aides allegedly controlled every aspect of the administrative and political affairs of the region for over a decade. Reddy was arrested in September 2011 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and has been out on bail since 2015.
“BJP doesn’t want crowd-pullers, all they want is dummies,” he added.
When asked what would happen if it turns out to be a hung Assembly in Karnataka, Reddy said, “Let us see on May 13 what happens.”
Watch the full interview: