New Delhi: The Reddy brothers right hand man and former Karnataka minister B Sriramulu's victory in a bypoll has not come as a surprise to both politicians and politics watchers in Karnataka. But, his huge victory margin (over 47,000 votes) has shocked the ruling BJP, which lost even the deposit in this high voltage mini-battle.
When Sriramulu quit BJP to fight election as an independent three months ago, BJP thought that it was yet another pressure tactic by the Reddy brothers. They ignored him and the Speaker took almost two months to decide on his resignation.
A week after Sriramulu's dramatic exit from the BJP, his closest friend and the head of now much tainted Reddy 'Empire' G Janardhana Reddy was sent to jail by the CBI in mining scam. It made Sriramulu nervous and the BJP happy. A section in the BJP even sensed an opportunity and tried to split the Reddy gang by wooing Sriramulu back into the party fold. BJP's efforts failed and Reddys' Hanuman decided to stand by his masters during the time of their worst crisis.
BJP was forced to take on its one time district commander just to save its face. Former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa reluctantly jumped into poll campaign and even called Reddys traitors....
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01:59 PM, Dec 04, 2011
Bangalore: Bellary has turned into a fortress ahead of Tuesday's bypoll and it's a litmus test for the BJP as many of the party MLAs have been supporting independent candidate Sriramulu who's being backed by the Reddy brothers. Sriramulu, a close aide of the Reddy brothers and a former BJP minister resigned three months ago. It's also the first poll after the illegal mining expose in Karnataka, and a lot...
07:29 AM, Nov 30, 2011
Bellary (Karnataka): Mining barons Reddy brothers seem to be preparing for a complete break from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka with their associate B Sriramulu on Monday announcing plans for a new outfit. The brothers, pampered by the party till recently, are already taking on the BJP in their stronghold Bellary in the November 30 bypoll to the state assembly from Bellary Rural constituency. The iron ore...
06:40 PM, Nov 28, 2011
