Jarkiholi brothers crossing swords raises poll pitch in Gokak
Bengaluru,Nov 29: It's a clash between the Jarkiholi brothers in bypoll-bound Gokak assembly constituency, where some local political leaders say the electoral battle is likely to go down to the wire, with the stakes being high.
The bypoll to the seat in Belagavi district was necessitated following the resignation and subsequent disqualification of Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, after he rallied the rebels to topple the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government in the state.
While Ramesh Jarkiholi is now contesting the bypolls on a BJP ticket, his youngest brother Lakhan Jarkiholi is his opponent as a Congress nominee.
The battle for Gokak has also drawn the battle lines within the family, as their other brothers- Congress MLA from Yemkanmardi Satish Jarkiholi and Arabhavi BJP MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi, supporting their siblings who are candidates from their respective parties.
Satish had engaged in a long drawn verbal battle publicly in the last few months with Ramesh over the latter's decision to quit Congress and giving prominence to his brothers-in-law Appirao Patil, Ambirao Patil and Shankar Patil in local politics.
Some local leaders say that in furtherance of his ongoing battle with his older brother Ramesh, Satish went out of his way to ensure Lakhan got a Congress ticket.
The local leaders, who have been witness to Jarkiholi brothers' political dominance in Belagavi district, say that Ramesh, who has represented Gokak five times in the assembly, is facing a "tough battle" as his younger brother Lakhan, who had been his "backbone" in the previous election campaigns and victories, is now his opponent candidate.
"Lakhan has been by his (Ramesh) side in all the previous elections as support.Now it remains to be seen how things go.
Being in the same party (Congress) Satish too had not worked against Ramesh electorally in elections so far, but this time the scene is different," an associate of the Jarkiholis' said.
However, in a surprise development, Bhimshi, the other among the five Jarkiholi brothers, is siding with Ramesh in this bypoll, signalling a possible end to a long-drawn political rivalry.
Interestingly, Bhimshi had contested the 2008 assembly election as a BJP candidate from Gokak against Ramesh and had been defeated.
Sons of businessman Laxmanrao Jarkiholi- Ramesh (eldest), followed by Satish, Balachandra, Bhimshi and Lakhan (youngest) belong to the Nayaka/Valmiki community under the Scheduled Tribes.
Many local leaders see the political diversity in the family, also as a "calculated move", as it ensures at least one of them finds a place in the government of the day.
While Yediyurappa and his cabinet have thrown its weight behind Ramesh to ensure his victory, Lakhan enjoys the support and confidence of Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, considering Satish's closeness to him for long.
If Ramesh manages to retain the seat, it will be the first ever win for BJP in Gokak.
However, he also faces Ashok Pujari, a BJP rebel turned JD(S) candidate.
JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has put his weight behind Pujari to defeat Ramesh, who played a key role in the collapse of his coalition government.
Sources said BJP also fears reduction in votes that it may get from the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat community,seen as the strong vote bank of the party, as Pujari hails from the community, while its candidate Ramesh belongs to ST community.
Fifteen of the 17 constituencies represented by the disqualified legislators, including Ramesh, who played a key role in the collapse of the coalition government and paved way for BJP to come to power, will go for bypolls on December 5.
Counting of votes will take place on December 9.
The Supreme Court recently allowed the disqualified legislators to contest the bypolls, while upholding the then Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar's decision to disqualify them.
With winning a majority seats being crucial for the government's survival, BJP has fielded 13 of the 16 disqualified legislators, including Ramesh, who joined the party, as its candidates from their respective constituencies.
There are speculations within BJP circles that Ramesh may be made Deputy Chief Minister in the Yediyurappa cabinet on his election.
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Fully confident of winning bypolls to 2 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka: CM Siddaramaiah
Davangere (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday asserted that he was one hundred per cent confident that Congress will win by-polls to two Assembly Constituencies in the state, claiming the BJP will face defeat, similar to what they experienced in earlier byelections.
He also played down the disgruntlement among the other ticket aspirants in the Congress, saying that everyone will be convinced and come together to ensure the party's victory.
Bypolls for the Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly constituencies will be held on April 9. The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, respectively.
"I'm one hundred per cent confident that we will win both seats. BJP may claim that they will win, but where have they won? They had made similar claims in the previous bypolls, didn't we defeat sons of former CMs Basavaraj Bommai and H D Kumaraswamy?" Siddaramaiah asked in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the BJP may claim things, but the Congress government has fulfilled its promises and walked the talk by implementing five guarantee schemes.
"People of the state are in our (Congress) favour. We have proved it in the previous byelections. People, including Dalits, backward class people, poor, farmers and minorities -- all of them are with us," he added.
When questioned about claims by some BJP leaders that the bypoll results would indicate the outcome of the 2028 Assembly polls in the state, the CM asked, "When they won't win, what indicator is that?"
"We are in power, we won three by-elections earlier, and I'm confident that we will win these by-elections too," he added.
Congress in November 2024 had swept the by-polls to three Assembly constituencies -- Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna.
Responding to a question, Siddaramaiah claimed that the BJP will face defeat in all four states -- Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and the union territory of Puducherry -- which are going for polls.
After several rounds of discussion amid stiff competition for the party tickets, Congress on Sunday announced Umesh Meti and Samarth Mallikarjun as the party candidates for Assembly by-polls to Bagalkot and Davangere South assembly constituencies, respectively.
The Congress gave tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. While Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, Samarth Mallikarjun is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Expressing confidence that the disgruntlement within the party, following candidate selection, especially in the Davangere South constituency, will be resolved, the CM said, adding that the candidate selection was a unanimous decision by the party.
Pointing out that ticket aspirant Sadiq Pailwan has announced he will contest as a rebel in Davangere South, he said, "We will try and convince him."
When asked whether Muslims would be compensated, Siddaramaiah said, "Nothing has been discussed, but we will try to give representation to minorities."
There was a strong demand from Muslims for the Davangere South ticket, as the community has a significant presence in the constituency. Some factions within Congress had opposed giving the ticket to the Shamanur family.
