The absence of G. Karunakara Reddy, one of the Reddy brothers of Bellary, from the campaign trail of the crucial byelection to Bellary (Rural) Assembly Constituency, in which his close associate B. Sriramulu is contesting, has led to wide-spread speculation.
Mr. Reddy has not made a public appearance in Bellary since the day the Reddy brothers were denied ministerial berths in the D.V. Sadananda Gowda.
What is odd is that he was conspicuous by his absence when Mr. Sriramulu filed his nomination papers to contest the byelection.
Mr. Sriramulu decided to contest as an Independent candidate after discussing the matter with his close friend G. Janardhan Reddy, who is lodged in Chanchalaguda jail in Hyderabad.
As many as five of the eight BJP party MLAs — Somashekar Reddy (Bellary City), T.H. Suresh Babu (Kampli), B. Nagendra (Kudligi), Nemiraj Nayak (Hagari Bommanahalli) and Chandra Nayak (Hadagali) — had accompanied Mr. Sriramulu to file his nomination papers. Mr. Somashekar Reddy and Mr. Suresh Babu have been actively campaigning in favour of Mr. Sriramulu.
Party workers are wondering whether Mr. Karunakara Reddy is against Mr. Sriramulu's move and whether his loyalty still rests with the BJP.
When asked, Mr. Sriramulu told The Hindu : “When I called him, Mr. Karunakara Reddy informed me that he was in Cuddapah to perform a ‘puja'; I did not want to disturb him. However, I am confident that he will extend his support to me and also campaign in my favour,” he added.
State BJP president K.S. Eshwarappa, when asked about Mr. Karunakara Reddy's stand, said the latter was in touch with the party. “Neither has he contacted us, nor have we contacted him after Mr. Sriramulu broke away from the party,” he said.
Are they with him?
M.S. Somalingappa (Sirguppa MLA) and B.S. Anand Singh (Vijayanagar MLA) were the two other party legislators who had maintained a distance from Mr. Sriramulu after his decision to contest as an Independent. Nemiraj Nayak, Hagari Bommanahalli MLA, and Chandra Nayak, Hadagali MLA, who were present on the day of filing nomination, have not turned up later.
It is said that all the four have decided to stay with the party.
