Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Rajya Sabha member C M Ramesh, who will be completing his term in the Upper House next month, is basically a contractor before being a politician. So, he enjoys good connections with all political parties.
He owns an infrastructure group by name Ritwick Projects, which does a lot of projects in various states, other than in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
His company was also under the scanner of the Income Tax authorities before he defected to the BJP in 2019.
Normally, any leader associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party, even if he is a businessman, doesn’t like to antagonise the party by providing funds to the opposition parties, who are strongly opposing the BJP.
But Ramesh has now been found to have extended financial assistance even to the Congress party.
As per the disclosures made by State Bank of India to the Supreme Court, Ramesh has provided financial assistance of Rs 30 crore to the Congress through electoral bonds during the last year’s assembly elections in Karnataka.
Interestingly, Ritwick Projects also extended funds to the extent of Rs 5 crore to the TDP, the parent party of C M Ramesh.
Though he is presently in the BJP, he still maintains good connections with TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu.
Though the BJP might not take it seriously the donations to the TDP, which is now an alliance partner of the saffron party, but its national leadership is seriously viewing his funding to the Congress ahead of Karnataka elections, in which the BJP lost power to the Congress.
The SBI disclosure is now expected to affect the plans of Ramesh to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Andhra Pradesh.
Ramesh is eyeing Anakapalli seat, but now, the BJP might keep him at bay in the elections, sources said.
