Janardhan Reddy, the Karnataka mining baron who had quit the BJP to float the Kalayana Rajya Pragathi Paksha, announced on Sunday that he would return to the saffron party. He had recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The Gangavathi MLA had floated the KRPP ahead of the Assembly elections, which he and 45 others from his party contested. While he was the only candidate to win, his party had secured 2.48 lakh votes across the state, mainly in the Ballari, Koppal and Bagalkot districts. ಭಾರತ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರದ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಗೃಹಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳಾದ ಅಮಿತ್ ಶಾ ಜಿಯವರ ಆಹ್ವಾನದ ಮೇರೆಗೆ ನವದೆಹಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದು ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಪ್ರಗತಿ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷನಾಗಿ ಭೇಟಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಕೆಲವು ವಿಚಾರಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದು ನನಗೆ ಬಹಳ ಸಂತೋಷವನ್ನು ತಂದಿದೆ. -ಗಾಲಿ ಜನಾರ್ಧನ ರೆಡ್ಡಿ. pic.twitter.com/Z3IUfc7MCC — Gali Janardhana Reddy (@GaliJanardhanar) March 14, 2024 The 57-year-old is the prime accused in a slew of CBI cases of illegal mining and corruption dating back to the BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government of 2008-2013. “Three months ago I informed the media that I would externally support the BJP to see Narendra Modi as Prime Minister again. But after discussing with my followers, I have come to a decision to join the party. The BJP is like my mother and I am returning to the party on Monday in the presence of state leaders,” Reddy said. Reddy is said to have supported the Congress in the recent Rajya Sabha elections, even though he has said that it is only media speculation. According to BJP sources, Reddy's KRPP may not win the elections but can affect the Opposition party’s prospects in the Ballari, Bagalkot and Koppal regions. “We wanted him on board to ensure the party doesn’t face any division of votes in this region,” said a source. In the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress managed to win five out of the seven seats in Bagalkot district, all five in Ballari district and three out of the five seats in Koppal district. Analysts in the BJP concluded that the KRPP divided the votes, helping the Congress win. In the 2018 elections, the Congress won three seats in Ballari and two seats each in Bagalkot and Koppal districts. JD(S) leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had also met Reddy before he left for the Ram temple inauguration in Ayodhya, giving rise to talk about the latter's return to the BJP. Reddy, who has studied only up to Class 10, faces 20 criminal cases. He declared Rs 37.2-crore assets before the Election Commission during the last Assembly elections.
