State News And Discussion - 3

[Guest]

<b>Reddys snatch milk from Gowdas</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bangalore, July 25: The Reddy brothers have extended their sway from mines to milk, wresting control of Karnataka’s dairy farming sector from the state’s other powerful family, the Gowdas.

<b>The youngest Reddy brother, Bellary MLA Somashekara, was today elected unopposed as chairman of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), thus putting it in the BJP’s hands.</b>

<b>The federation, famous for its Nandini brand of milk and milk products, had been under the control of H.D. Revanna, son of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, for nearly 15 years. Revanna stayed away from today’s election.</b>

The Reddys, mining magnates from Bellary, have a track record of winning key elections for the BJP in Karnataka and played a pivotal role in the party’s rise to power in the state. The other two brothers, Karunakara and Janardhana Reddy, are state ministers for revenue and tourism.

<b>The rush to replace Revanna as KMF chairman is the latest episode in the face-off between the Reddys and the Gowdas. </b>The two families’ first brush came when Janardhana accused H.D. Kumaraswamy, Revanna’s younger brother and former chief minister, of raising Rs 150 crore as bribe from mine owners in Bellary at a time the BJP was Kumaraswamy’s coalition partner.

<b>Although control of the milk federation — which has a membership of some 20 lakh farmers — could help the BJP widen its base in the state, it was more of a prestige issue, a Congress leader said.</b>

<b>Some BJP leaders said that the milk union elections had shown that the party had made inroads into southern Karnataka, a bastion of the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress</b>.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->