Former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy floated his own party ‘Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha’. The announcement came as the state is preparing for assembly elections in 2023.
The former BJP leader also declared that he will contest from the Gangavati constituency in the upcoming assembly polls.
Speaking with the reporters in Bengaluru today, Reddy said that the launch of the party is a new political episode. “I am here to serve the people of Kalyana Karnataka and I will visit every household in the upcoming assembly elections. If political parties try to divide the people in the state and try to reap benefits from the consequences, it is not possible here. The people of the state have always been and will remain united,” said Gali Janardhan Reddy as quoted by HT.
He also refuted the rumours about his differences with BJP minister Sri Ramulu. “I have no issues with anyone in the BJP. Sri Ramulu has been a close friend since my childhood and we will continue to be on good terms,” he stated.
The mining baron was imprisoned in a multi-crore illegal mining case in 2011 and was granted bail in 2015. While granting bail, the Supreme court directed him to surrender his passport and ordered him not to leave the country without permission. The apex court has also prohibited him from visiting Bellary in Karnataka, Anantapur, and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.
Recently in October 2022, the Supreme Court gave him permission to enter his hometown of Ballary and stay till November 6 to meet his daughter after he had sought permission for the same.
