Congress-JD(S) unity crushes 'Republic of Ballari' in bypoll

BENGALURU: The 'Republic of Ballari' - a term given in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining under mining czar G Janardhana Reddy and his confidant, BJP MLA B Sreeramulu - has crumbled with Congress regaining the Lok Sabha seat after 14 years in the Karnataka bypolls, the results of which were declared on Tuesday.
It was an equally poised contest for Congress-JD(S) nominee VS Ugrappa and BJP's J Shantha (Sreeramulu's sister), where caste and candidates were secondary, with Ballari being a reserved constituency for Scheduled Tribes.The outcome has established Karnataka minister D K Shivakumar's political supremacy. He was in charge of Congress campaign and descended on the district with ministers and party functionaries, while Sreeramulu became the lone ranger with hardly any support from the party.
Reddy's insensitive remark that death of former CM Siddaramaiah's son Rakesh was "God's punishment for separating him (Reddy) from his children and putting him in jail" caused embarrassment to BJP. B S Yeddyurappa had to ask Reddy to apologise.
Significantly, Shivakumar, known for his organising skills, apologised for the then Siddaramaiah government recommending a religious minority tag to Lingayats. According to political analysts, the strategy worked as Ballari district has a large Lingayat population, who are said to have voted for the party in this bypoll.
The Ballari defeat has shaken the BJP leaders who had taken it for granted that it had become their bastion.