Supporters of former ministers Gali Janardhan Reddy and B Sreeramulu are upbeat after the the YSR Congress made a nearly clean sweep of the byelections to 18 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, hoping the BSR party will be able to replicate its performance in Karnataka in the coming Assembly polls .
As the sympathy factor triggered by the arrest of Kadapa MP, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy seems to have translated into votes for his YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) , Reddy-Sriramulu loyalists feel the former's stint in jail could work in their favour too,but seem to be forgetting that there is not much sympathy for the mining baron turned politcian in the state. “We are very happy with the performance of YSRCP and are proud of Jagan's achievement. We too were blessed by his father, the late YS Rajashekhar Reddy.
This verdict shows people believe he is innocent and that they will not let you down if you work hard for their welfare," said Bellary city MLA, Somashekhar Reddy, claiming Mr Sreeramulu was emerging as the tallest leader of the backward and suppressed classes. But the reality could be vastly different for the Reddy brothers battling charges of illegal mining.
While Mr Jaganmohan Reddy meticulously filled the vacuum for a third political force acceptable across all regions in Andhra Pradesh after the Congress and Telugu Desam Party, Karnataka already has three major parties in the Congress, BJP and JD(S). Whether there is room for a fourth party led by Mr Sreeramulu is debatable, particularly as his Valmiki community is not numerically strong in most constituencies. More importantly, neither he nor his mentor Janardhan Reddy have had a long reign in politics, and instead are carrying the baggage of illegal mining and a series of investigations into it.