Click to play videoNew Delhi: Bellary's iron ore has been pure gold for the Reddy brothers. Sons of a police constable, Karunakara, Janardhana and Somashekara Reddy were small businessmen in the '90s.
In the 1999 elections, the Reddys and a man named B Sriramalu campaigned for BJP's Sushma Swaraj against Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Bellary.
Sushma lost, but when the BJP won municipal elections in Bellary two years later, the Reddys were rewarded.
The Reddys'-owned Obulapuram Mining Company won huge contracts from China making the brothers crorepatis (millionaires) overnight, bringing SUVs, helicopters and even private aircraft into Bellary.
Backed by money power, in 2004, Karunakara Reddy won the Bellary Lok Sabha seat from the Congress, which had held it for 52 years.
Last year, Reddy money was said to be behind the BJP's victory in Karnataka.
Somashekhar and Janardhan Reddy are now both state ministers. B Sriramulu, too, is now the state's Infrastructure Minister. And his sister J Shantha is the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Bellary. The Reddys are also said to be close to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Rajashekar Reddy and his son Jaganmohan Reddy.
Reports suggest that the Reddys use the state machinery to encroach on mining lands in Bellary. Labor and environment laws too are routinely flouted.
With a declared net worth of over Rs 500 crore, the Reddy brothers clearly are the kingmakers in Karnataka and their financial clout will play a defining role in this election.
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