BJP's mining mafia aka Bellary Reddy Brothers gang is back with a bang: Congress

The Karnataka Congress on Tuesday took a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over tickets to Reddy brothers and accused it of favouring the same set of scamsters who looted Karnataka.

Having fallen on hard times following the humongous iron ore mining scam, the resourceful Reddy brothers of Ballari are back in the reckoning, with the BJP fielding two of them for the political potboiler of an Assembly poll slated next month.

The party has fielded G Somashekhara Reddy in Ballari city, and his elder brother and former Ballari Lok Sabha member G Karunakara Reddy in Harappanahalli in Davanagere district. The battle for Badami, where the BJP has fielded its Lok Sabha member B Sriramulu, a prominent ST leader considered close to the influential Reddy brothers of Ballari, may also not be a cakewalk for Siddaramaiah.

"While PM Modi continues spinning jumlas to a global audience; in Karnataka, BJP's Mining Mafia a.k.a the Bellary Reddy Brothers Gang is back with a Bang. BJP has given MLA tickets to the same set of scamsters who looted Karnataka," said Karnataka Congress in a tweet.

While PM Modi continues spinning jumlas to a global audience; in Karnataka, BJP's Mining Mafia a.k.a the Bellary Reddy Brothers Gang is back with a Bang

BJP has given MLA tickets to the same set of scamsters who looted Karnataka.#MODIfiedReddyBros pic.twitter.com/ql2dEndsO0

— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) April 24, 2018

The campaign for the 224-member Karnataka Assembly is heating up with prominent leaders visiting the state and the political parties announcing their candidate lists for the polls. BJP is making an all-out effort to oust the Congress government from the state.

The BJP has declared its state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa and JDS H D Kumaraswamy as their chief ministerial faces. Both have been the state's chief minister. A survey conducted by the Times Now-VMR has indicated a "photo-finish" in the Karnataka Assembly elections, with the BJP and the Congress neck-and-neck.

The Janata Dal (Secular) supremo HD Deve Gowda said that his party would not form a coalition government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under any circumstances.