In the 2008 Assembly elections, the BJP won eight of the total nine seats. Now, in 2023, the Congress won all five seats in Ballari and two seats in Vijayanagara district, which was recently carved out of Ballari. The BJP has been left with only one seat (Hadagali) in the united Ballari district.
Ballari had traditionally been a Congress stronghold. It was because of this safe home feeling that the Congress fielded Sonia Gandhi here in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. With the BJP firebrand Sushma Swaraj jumping into the arena, Ballari saw a high-voltage electoral battle in which Ms. Sonia Gandhi finally won.
However, the district slipped into the BJP hands in the 2008 elections during the mining boom. Miner Gali Janardhan Reddy, along with his brothers Gali Somashekhar Reddy and Gali Karunakar Reddy and his close associate and Naik community leader B. Sriramulu, strengthened the party with their money and muscle power.
As a result, the BJP won eight of the nine seats in the district in the 2008 elections, leaving just one for the Congress.
By the time of the 2013 elections, the internal contradictions and infights weakened the saffron party. Mr. Janardhan Reddy went to jail. Party strongman and Lingayat leader B.S. Yediyurappa broke away to form his own Karnataka Janata Party. Mr. Sriramulu also broke away to form his own political outfit, the BSR Congress. All these factors weakened the BJP in Ballari also.
Making use of the situation, the Congress improved by winning four out of nine seats, leaving two for the BSR and just one each for the BJP and the JD(S).
With all the departed leaders back in its fold, the BJP again improved its strength by winning four seats and leaving five for the Congress in the 2018 elections. With the bifurcation of Ballari, five seats remained in the old Ballari district and five seats went to the newly formed Vijayanagara, including Harapanahalli which came back to Ballari district.
In the 2023 elections, the Congress won all five segments in Ballari district – Kampli, Siruguppa, Ballari City, Ballari Rural, and Sandur. In Vijayanagara, it bagged Kudligi and Vijayanagara.
The BJP could win only one seat – Hadagli. Hagari Bommanahalli went to the JD(S) and Harapanahalli to an Independent candidate.
In other words, the BJP is left with only one seat in the 10 seats of united Ballari. Mr. Somashekhar Reddy, Mr. Karunakar Reddy, and Mr. Sriramulu – who were once the most powerful in Ballari politics – have all lost.
Even Mr. Janardhan Reddy’s wife Gali Lakshmi Aruna, who contested from the KRPP party, also lost from Ballari City at the hands of the Congress’ young candidate Na.Ra. Bharat Reddy. Mr. Sriramulu lost to the Congress candidate B. Nagendra by 29,300 votes.
With Mr. Janardhan Reddy, who won from Gangawati in Koppal district, being barred from entering Ballari district and his brothers, his wife, and his associate being defeated, the Ballari district seems to be now free from the political influence of the Reddy brothers.
