The Reddy brothers sealed a spectacular rehabilitation into BJP with four from the 'Reddy group' winning assembly seats. But it was
Ballari MP
B Sriramulu who capped his phenomenal rise by wresting Molkalmuru in Chitradurga, outside Ballari.
Once perceived as a lackey of the Reddy brothers, the mining barons of Ballari, the rise of Sriramulu, popularly known as Ramulu, is one for the story books. In this assembly election, seven tickets were given to the Reddys, family members and friends included. Four of them lost. But G Somasekhara Reddy (Bellary City) and G Karunakara Reddy (Harapanahalli) came out victors.
BJP went back to the Reddy brothers to help them in the assembly polls as well as the 2019 Lok Sabha election. With mining czars Anand Singh and B Nagendra, as well as the Ghorpade family, backing
Congress, Reddy brothers are the sole mine runners still with BJP.
In this context, Sriramulu was a vital bridge for BJP to maintain close ties with tainted mining baron
Janardhana Reddy while publicly staying aloof. As a close aide and friend of Janaradhana Reddy, Sriramulu has become an indispensable component in BJP's scheme to take the reins of power in Karnataka.
The 46-year-old Sriramulu derives his strength from his Valmiki or Nayaka community (7-8 % of the state electorate) and can be the rallying force for the party considering there are no rivals to stake claim for leadership of the community.
Asked about the likelihood of Sriramulu becoming deputy CM in the event of BJP forming the government, BJP national president
Amit Shah neither confirmed nor denied it.