Gali Janardhana Reddy
MOLAKALMURU (CHITRADURGA):Camping in a bungalow in Chitradurga just a couple of kilometres from the Ballari border, mining baron and former minister Gali Janardhana Reddy is disappointed after his BJP bosses instructed him to stay away from openly campaigning for his friend B Sriramulu and the BJP. However, Reddy is not ready to rest till he sees his trusted lieutenant Sriramulu emerge victorious in his battle against Chief Minitser Siddaramaiah in the battle for Badami.
Many BJP workers from both Chitradurga and Ballari districts still throng the farm house in Molakalmuru, located just metres away from the Bidar-Srirangapatna National Highway 150A, to be part of the next strategy in fighting their political rivals. In an interview to The New Indian Express, Janardhana Reddy opens up on his association with BJP, development of tourism, victory of BJP candidate Sriramulu and host of other issues. He is determined to work in his own way to see the return of B S Yeddyurappa as chief Minsiter, he says. Excerpts:
Being away from Ballari, are you missing the action in your home turf?
I am getting my strength and influence from Ballari. I would have settled at this house much earlier itself, at least now I am happy to be put up here. As I was always in touch with my well-wishers, I never felt loneliness nor missed them. However, I want to get back to Ballari as soon as possible after getting freed from all the cases.
Are you still with BJP and campaigning for the party?
There is no question of rejoining BJP when I have never left the party. I am campaigning for my friend B Sriramulu at Molakalmuru and Badami constituencies in my own way and I am confident of his victory in both constituencies. I want to see Chief Minister Siddaramaiah defeated and his ego punctured. I will be campaigning for BJP candidates in my own way away from the limelight to see B S Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister of the state once again.
According to you, how many seats will BJP win in the state ? What is the realistic target in C’durga district?
As per my survey, BJP is going to win a clear majority of 132 seats in the state. In Chitradurga, we are confident of winning five seats. For the sixth seat, we have to strive hard and we are planning a strategy for this.
Will PM Modi prove a game-changer in the last leg of campaign?
Sure, Prime Minister is a game-changer in this election. He is coming to the state as a successful Prime Minister who has driven the country to success and secured a special place for the country on the world map. He can swing many more seats in favour of the party and achieve ‘Mission 150’.
Siddarmaiah is relentlessly targeting you and Yedyurappa with the ‘jail birds’ jibe. Your reaction.
Though Siddarmaiah targeted me, he has not been able to get me indicted. Already, 90% of the cases against me have been quashed by the courts. I am confident of coming clean in the remaining cases too. The ‘illegalities’ which were foisted against me have not been proved till now and all the allegations are false. The jail term and other legal issues are a bad dream for me and I don’t want to recall it again.
What is your take on BJP trying to project Sriramulu as the rising star in BJP and his future?
Me and Sriramulu are friends from a very young age and have experienced many ups and downs in life, before reaching this stage. His goodness, polite nature, urge to help the needy and uplift the oppressed sections has made him a true leader of the people. He has not emerged a leader overnight. He has risen to the ranks of an MLA, minister and MP from being an ordinary BJP worker to corporator in Ballari. Hence, he will be a successful leader. The most important thing to be noted here is that Sriramulu is a born leader. I am camping in Molakalmuru to ensure that Sriramulu wins the constituency by a huge margin and relieve him from concentrating on this seat. Sriramulu has greater responsibility of ensuring victory of BJP candidates in other reserved constituencies spread from Chamarajnagar to Bidar. If he stays back here, it will be difficult to achieve BJP’s target.
Will the people of Karnataka see Janardhana Reddy return to active politics in near future, if BJP government comes to power?
Now I am here only to support Sriramulu and BJP to come to power and there is no personal ambition. Most importantly, I have experienced everything in politics and social life, hence, I have no ambition to come to active politics. However, I want to take up social service activity in a big way for the service of mankind.
As Tourism minister in the BSY government, you planned to launch many new projects including heli-tourism and bring K’taka on the tourism map. What is your opinion on the present status?
Karnataka is a rich state having numerous tourist places, hence during my tenure as Tourism Minister the tag line ‘One State Many Worlds’, was given. However, the present government didn’t evince interest in developing tourism and all the projects started by BJP government were frozen. After the new BJP government comes to power, it will take off robustly. Heli-tourism can take Karnataka a long way in increasing tourism revenue. It will help in providing employment to many people as tourist traffic increases. We have good length of Western Ghats, plain lands, coastline and others for promoting tourism.
What was the reason for selection of Molakalmuru constituency for Sriramulu?
As Molakalmuru is very close to Ballari and in a strategic position connecting Ballari, Koppal, Chitradurga, Davangere, Tumakuru and Raichur, having maximum seats, this seat was selected. It was also the demand of the people of the constituency which prompted him to contest here and we are confident of winning by a huge margin on May 12.
What are the plans for development of Molakalmuru, if Sriramulu wins the seat?
Molakalmuru has not seen development since ages. The first and foremost plan is the develop infrastructure in the taluk and make this a model constituency of the state. An important factor for development is water, hence bringing water from Upper Bhadra Project, backwaters of Tungabhadra and resolving the water crisis, supporting agro-based and allied industries as it is having rail, road and air connectivity, will help the youths stay back in the constituency and take up income generating activities.
