Giving a ticket to seven members from the Reddy clan, which is embroiled in an alleged Rs 50,000 crore mining scam, seems to have gone against the BJP in Karnataka, leading to a furious debate and embarrassment for several party leaders.
Sushma's open revolt is likely to force the BJP central leadership not to take the Reddy brothers back into the party.
Bellary has turned into a fortress ahead of Tuesday's bypoll and it's a litmus test for the BJP as many of the party MLAs have been supporting independent candidate Sriramulu who's being backed by the Reddy brothers.
Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj today welcomed the Supreme Court order favouring a CBI probe into the linkage between mining activities in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh allegedly involving the Reddy brothers.
Stepping up its offensive againt BJP over issue of illegal mining in Karnataka after the arrest of its former minister, Congress today demanded a CBI probe into such activities in the state and an inquiry into alleged business ties of its top leaders with mining magnates Reddy brothers.