Bellary: When the Election Commission squad went to raid the office and residence of a local trader Babulal who is known as 'Chor' Babulal on Saturday, they were expecting a few crores or even a lesser amount at his place. But, they were both surprised and shocked after the raid yielded more than Rs 45 crore. The EC officials recovered close to Rs.10 crore in cash and Kisan Saving Certificates worth Rs 35 crore from his house and office.
Babulal, an alleged Hawala operator is considered very close to illegal mining barons of Bellary Reddys and the BJP candidate B Sriramulu. The raid and recovery have sent shock waves across the Reddy camp which is making a desperate bid to come back to power this time.
The BJP which has fielded Sriramulu despite stiff opposition from top BJP leader Sushma Swaraj is now red-faced. The BJP people those who earlier opposed his re-entry into the party are now pointing figures at its president Rajnath Singh and PM nominee Narendra Modi. They claim that these two leaders were instrumental in getting him back into the party eyeing ST - Valmiki caste votes in Karnataka.
Even though there has been no official confirmation over the link between Sriramulu and the money recovered, almost everybody in Bellary knows whose money it is.
The Election Commission is also conducting raids at several other places in Bellary and yet to give details of the money recovered. Four MLAs from Bellary are in jail in connection with illegal mining and all four of them are close to Sriramulu. These MLAs have already sent words to their followers to ensure Sriramulu's victory.
In 2009, the dreaded Reddys were ruling Bellary with an iron fist. Their word was the law. They also spent money like water. But, their candidate (Sriramulu's younger sister) J Shantha won by just 2000 votes against the Congress candidate Justice N Y Hanumanthappa.
This time the situation is different. Chief of Reddy clan G Janardhana Reddy is in jail. None of the Reddy brothers are in power. The Congress is ruling the state and it has also won some seats in Bellary. The local civic bodies are also controlled by the Congress.
Above all the illegal mining has come to a halt. Sriramulu is now swimming against the tide. He is hoping that his caste and younger voters will back him. There are allegations of him spending huge money to allegedly buy votes.
The ongoing raids across Bellary district has not only caused a huge embarrassment for him, but also choked his resources. The BJP president Rajnath Singh has already addressed a rally in Bellary promising to make Bellary Karnataka's steel capital. The Congress is ridiculing it saying that what he actually meant was 'STEAL' capital.
The Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has also visited Bellary and promised the people that his party will make it a manufacturing hub like China. The BJP is ridiculing Rahul Gandhi for this.
The Congress candidate Justice N Y Hanumanthappa was Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court and a relative of Sriramulu. Hanumanthappa won Lok Sabha election from neighbouring Chitradurga in 2004 on a Congress ticket.
Some Congress and BJP workers are alleging that there is a 'match fixing' between Hanumanthappa and Sriramulu. Hanumanthappa dismisses such allegations saying that he has snapped all ties with the Sriramulu family.
To add insult to injury, the police have also registered a fraud case against Sriramulu on Sunday night. He is accused of not returning close to Rs 3 crore to a person from Mysore. He has been charged with IPC section 420 and other sections.
Bellary is a matter of prestige for both Congress and BJP. If Sriramulu loses, Sushma Swaraj will have the last laugh. If Congress loses, it will be a huge setback for the state government as well as for Rahul Gandhi who has instructed the party win Bellary back.
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