Bellary, Karnataka:
This is Reddy land. And the BJP rules the state. So after the Congress' padyatra to Karnataka's Bellary to protest against illegal mining there, the BJP could scarcely leave well alone.
No less than the mentor of the powerful Reddy brothers, senior party leader Sushma Swaraj is here today for the fourth and final rally in a series of public meetings held by the party across the state to deflect the pressure put on the state government over illegal mining.
Sushma Swaraj comes to Bellary every year and visits a doctor's house for Varanahalakshmi Puja. She had made a promise to the people that she would, she said.
Swaraj knows Bellary well. It was here that she fought an election against Congress president Sonia Gandhi in 1999. She lost, but rose in stature within her party. The Reddy's support then is well-remembered.
Today, she visited the doctor's house and attended a mass wedding before heading out for the rally. Accompanying her are the Reddys, Ananth Kumar, Venkaiah Naidu, Chief Minister Yeddyurappa and state ministers.
Speaking at the rally, Sushma said, "I promised to come here every year whether I won or lost the elections. I have kept that promise of doing the Varanahalakshmi Puja every year in Bellary." She said though she had never visited Bellary before the 1999 election campaign, she now felt she was "born here in my last life.".