The BJP asking B. Sriramulu, the party’s State unit vice-president and MP, to contest in the Assembly election from Molakalmur in Chitradurga district has come as a surprise for many in Ballari and Chitradurga and has left people wondering why the party took such a decision.
For, though the party high command had gone on record that no sitting MPs, except B.S. Yeddyurappa, State unit president, would be given ‘B’ form to contest in the Assembly elections, Mr. Sriramulu’s name figures in the first list of 72 candidates released by the party. Secondly, Mr. Sriramulu, who is expected to shoulder a lot of responsibility to win as many as seats in Ballari district, especially in the absence of his close friend and mining baron G. Janardhan Reddy, was keen to contest in one of the constituencies in the district.
Mr. Sriramulu, it may be mentioned here, after representing Ballari city for a term, shifted to Ballari (Rural) which was among the five seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes after the delimitation of constituencies. He completed a hat-trick by winning three elections in a row – 2008, 2011 (by election) and in 2013 (as the founder of BSR Congress formed after he resigned from BJP following arrest of Mr. Reddy in 2011). He was also successful in ensuring the victory of three more from his party in Kampli, Molakalmur and Kudachi in Belagavi district and has emerged as a powerful leader of the Valmiki Nayak community. After coming back into the BJP fold and being elected as MP, Mr. Sriramulu has been striving hard to regain the party’s hold in Ballari district by winning more seats as in 2008 when the BJP had won eight out of the total nine seats.
Meanwhile, the party’s decision to field Mr. Sriramulu from Molakalmur appears to have not gone down well with the supporters of the sitting MLA Thippeswamy, who hold that it was attempt to dislodge their leader. As soon as the list of candidates was announced by the BJP, hundreds of supporters of Mr. Thippeswamy gathered outside his residence in Neralkunte village in Molakalmur taluk and demanded that the ticket was given to their leader. They also said that they were keen to launch an agitation, if necessary, to pressurise party leaders to change their decision and field Mr. Thippeswamy from the constituency.
Mr. Thippeswamy, a staunch supporter of Mr. Sriramulu, who registered his maiden victory from Molakalmur was in 2013 on BSR Congress ticket, told The Hindu that he had complete faith in the senior leaders and Mr. Sriramulu and would do justice to him. “I am in touch with Mr. Sriramulu. Our relationship is very good. Mr. Sriramulu has assured me of justice by talking to the senior leaders of the party. Let us wait and see,” he said.
