"Gokak Constituency's final match after 6 months"
Satish Jarakiholi warns his brother Ramesh Jarakiholi
Belagavi: Lok Sabha election is semi-final for us while the final match will be taken place after six months, District in-charge Minister Satish Jarakiholi warned his brother Ramesh Jarakiholi.
Speaking to media representatives on Sunday, Satish said, "The Gokak Constituency was in the control of Ramesh Jarkiholi for the past 20 years. But there are some confusion in the election this time. There are pro-party activists in Gokak," he said.
"It has been learnt that Ramesh, on Saturday, visited party workers and asked them to work for BJP. It was I, who strengthened Congress in Gokak Taluk. Then gave it to Ramesh. This election will reveal who is more powerful," he said.
"MLAs of Gokak constituency are not with our party. Therefore, I had to campaign in the field. Former minister Ramesh Jarakiholi has already left the party. Congress legislature party chairman Siddaramaiah has filed a complaint with the Speaker to take action against Ramesh. In addition, Ramesh Jarakiholi has worked for the BJP at various places in the district. Its equal if the party takes action or not. But, we would work to strengthen our party in Gokak, he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
