The mining baron floated his own party in December 2022. (File)
Mining baron-turned-politician Gali Janardhana Reddy is going to contest from Gangavati constituency in Koppal district in the Karnataka Assembly election 2023. The former BJP leader who recently formed his own party, Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha (KRPP), is fielding candidates in 50 Assembly constituencies in Kalyana Karnataka region.
KRPP will focus on the seats in the seven districts of Ballari, Koppal, Vijayanagara, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Bidar. Janardhana Reddy's wife Lakshmi Aruna will contest from the Ballari seat against sitting BJP MLA and his brother Somashekar Reddy.
Here are five facts about Gali Janardhan Reddy:
- The mining baron floated his own party in December 2022 breaking his two-decade-old ties with the BJP.
- Janardhana Reddy was arrested in September 2011 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the multi-crore illegal iron ore mining in Karnataka's Ballari and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. He has been out on bail since 2015. As per the bail conditions imposed by the Supreme Court, he is prohibited from visiting Ballari as well as Ananatapur and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.
- Mr Reddy was a close aide of Karnataka BJP minister Sriramulu. In the 2018 Assembly election, he campaigned for the BJP leader in Molakalmuru Assembly seat despite a fall out with the party.
- Janardhana Reddy came to limelight when he campaigned along with his brothers for former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj in 1999 Lok Sabha election when she fought against Sonia Gandhi from Bellary.
- In 2006, Mr Reddy was made a Member of Karnataka Legislative Council by BJP. He is said to have played a crucial role alongside BS Yediyurappa in 2008 Assembly election which paved the way for the BJP to form the government in the southern state for the first time.