Want to make Yeddyurappa CM, mining baron Reddy

Ballari: Mining baron and former minister B Janardhana Reddy on Thursday said he would work towards bringing BJP back to power in Karnataka with party leader B S Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister in the 2018 Assembly polls.

“BJP will form the government. It is our dream to make Yeddyurappa the Chief Minister,” Reddy told reporters here.

To a query, Reddy said, “I am in active politics. I will discharge whatever responsibility the party gives me.”

Reddy, who was a member of the Yeddyurappa cabinet, has been maintaining a low profile ever since he was sent to jail for alleged illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh.

He is being investigated in several cases of illegal mining and spent three years in prison before being released on bail last year.

As part of his bail condition, he can spend only a limited time in his hometown Ballari and has to ask for the court’s permission for every visit.