File photo of BS Sriramulu
BS Sriramulu, a close associate of jailed mining baron Janardhan Reddy of Bellary, will be re-joining the BJP in Bangalore today. Mr Sriramulu had left the party and formed the BSR Congress after differences with the party leadership. But he is now all set to return to the fold - and is expected to get the ticket from the iron-ore rich constituency of Bellary. The seat is currently held by the BJP - Mr Sriramulu's sister, Shantha, is the sitting MP.
Bellary was delivered to the BJP by the powerful - and enormously rich - Reddy brothers and Mr Sriramulu. In 1999, Sushma Swaraj of the BJP took on the Congress' Sonia Gandhi in this seat that had until then voted Congress since Independence.
Ms Swaraj lost but backed the Reddy family and helped build up their position in the party. She would even visit them every year in Bellary on the occasion of Varamahalakshmi Puja.
But when corruption allegations surfaced against Janardhan Reddy, she distanced herself from them. She also made public her opposition to Mr Sriramulu being allowed to re-join the party. But she clearly lost this round. The Karnataka unit of the BJP had made it clear to their high command that they wanted Mr Sriramulu back - and they seem to have had their way.
Mr Sriramulu told NDTV that only he would be joining today due to 'technical reasons' but that he hoped a merger between his party and the BJP would soon follow.
Earlier, the return of former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa to the BJP had also raises eyebrows. Mr Yeddyurappa faces corruption charges, but ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is looking at vote-catchers after their dismal performance in 2013's Assembly elections in Karnataka.