Mining baron and Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha MLA G. Janardhana Reddy on March 25 merged his party with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and formally rejoined the saffron party along with his wife Aruna Lakshmi and other followers.
Though Mr. Reddy had formally quit the BJP by floating his own political outfit in December 2022 ahead of the previous Assembly elections, in reality he had disassociated himself from the BJP for more than a decade, ever since legal issues related to mining had impacted his political position and relations with the party.
Mr. Reddy remarked soon after rejoining the party in the presence of veteran leader B.S. Yediyurappa, flanked by his old associate and MP candidate from Ballari and former Minister B. Sriramulu. “Looking at my friends and well-wishers here, I do not feel that I am coming to BJP office after 13 years. In fact, I feel as though I had gone out of this office just yesterday and returning today.”
