Sriramulu’s landslide victory in Bellary by-poll is going to be a precursor for major political quakes in both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Sriramulu won the election as independent with a margin of over 46,000 votes over his nearest rival Ramprasad of Congress. BJP, the ruling party in Karnataka, lost the deposit.
A former minister and close associate of Gali brothers, Sriramulu resigned from the BJP in the aftermath of mining cases against Janardhana Reddy, who is presently lodged in Chanchalguda jail. Ramulu’s victory has boosted morale in the Janardhana Reddy camp and proved his hold in Bellary district is still intact.
BJP is going to face rough weather following the latest by-poll result. The Sadananda Gowda government will face a serious threat to its survival once Janardhana Reddy and Kumara Swamy of Janata Dal (U) join hands. But that will have to wait till Janardhana Reddy’s bail. Since the charge sheet was filed by the CBI in OMC case already, Reddy may hope to secure freedom anytime now.
But the Bellary outcome has certainly raised the morale of the down-and-out Gali and his supporters. He is no more a political pariah and the old friends might like to drop in anytime now.
Bellary will have a cascading effect in Andhra Pradesh politics too. The result clearly showed that charges of corruption or CBI inquiries will have little impact on voters’ perceptions. Hence, all those who were a little scared of Jagan’s future because of the ongoing investigations will now have a new-found confidence in the future of YSR Congress Party.
Not only will those pro-YSR MLAs will return to his fold but also new ones will make favourable overtures towards Jagan, given the electoral message from Bellary. Jagan’s political stature will grow in leaps and bounds, if just one more by-election in our state replicates Bellary.
Immediately, Jagan is also set to gain for tomorrow’s no-confidence motion. Most of his loyal MLAs, who were earlier making noises, will now fall in line with his diktat on the vote in the Assembly.
