Reddys in fray for ‘Republic of Bellary’ elections
30 April 2013 7:13 AM IST
The fall of the once powerful and mighty Reddy brothers is evident in the infamously called 'Republic of Bellary' but the influence of mining lords has not diminished going by their presence in the fray for the May five Assembly polls. Flashback 2008. The BJP made a clean sweep of Bellary district, winning seven of the nine seats in a region where the Congress had traditionally maintained an unbroken hold.
The Reddy brothers, G Janardhana Reddy, G Karunakara Reddy and G Somashekara Reddy, ruled the roost then with their unchallenged supremacy, mostly attributed to the BJP's strong emergence in the district.
Now, Janardhana Reddy is cooling his heels in a jail in Hyderabad since September 2011 in connection with an illegal mining case in Andhra Pradesh. Karunakara Reddy has moved to Harapanahhali in neighbouring Davangere district.
Somashekara Reddy is with BSR Congress of former Minister B Sriramulu, a trusted lieutenant of the Reddy triumvirate, who floated his outfit after breaking from BJP. Somashekara Reddy, who won from Bellary city in 2008, is not contesting.
At the height of their influence, the Reddy troika - two of whom were ministers and the third Somashekara Reddy Chairman of Karnataka Milk Federation, were often accused of running the BJP government. Their clout has vaporised later.
The mining mafias stranglehold and blatant flouting of rules had prompted the then Lokayukta Santosh Hegde to refer to Bellary district as ‘the Republic of Bellary.’ But the Reddys' downfall has by itself not broken the hold of mining barons, reflected across the political spectrum in this election too in mine-rich Bellary and elsewhere.
The Reddy brothers, G Janardhana Reddy, G Karunakara Reddy and G Somashekara Reddy, ruled the roost then with their unchallenged supremacy, mostly attributed to the BJP's strong emergence in the district.
Now, Janardhana Reddy is cooling his heels in a jail in Hyderabad since September 2011 in connection with an illegal mining case in Andhra Pradesh. Karunakara Reddy has moved to Harapanahhali in neighbouring Davangere district.
Somashekara Reddy is with BSR Congress of former Minister B Sriramulu, a trusted lieutenant of the Reddy triumvirate, who floated his outfit after breaking from BJP. Somashekara Reddy, who won from Bellary city in 2008, is not contesting.
At the height of their influence, the Reddy troika - two of whom were ministers and the third Somashekara Reddy Chairman of Karnataka Milk Federation, were often accused of running the BJP government. Their clout has vaporised later.
The mining mafias stranglehold and blatant flouting of rules had prompted the then Lokayukta Santosh Hegde to refer to Bellary district as ‘the Republic of Bellary.’ But the Reddys' downfall has by itself not broken the hold of mining barons, reflected across the political spectrum in this election too in mine-rich Bellary and elsewhere.
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