Jarkiholi battles for Cabinet re-entry

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi who suffers from a ‘trust deficit in the BJP, is trying to put pressure on party bosses to assign him the responsibility of politically sensitive Belagavi if the saffron party wants the lotus to bloom in the district in the 2023 Assembly polls.

However, the BJP is reportedly in no mood to listen to Ramesh after his dubious role during last year’s Legislative Council polls when BJP candidate Mahantesh Kavatagimath lost and his brother Lakhan Jarkiholi won. It is learnt that Ramesh wanted the ruling party to allow him to have a say in finalising candidates in the coming Assembly elections in Belagavi so that he can field his relative, Ambi Patil from Athani constituency.

Agitated over Ramesh’s ‘greed for power,’ original BJP leaders including Forest Minister Umesh Katti, former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi and Mahantesh Kavatagimath, have registered their protest with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. They do not want the CM to entertain Ramesh and clip his wings if possible in the interest of the party.

Ramesh is trying to influence BJP leaders through his brother and Arabhavi BJP MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi for his entry into the Cabinet of the rejig happens. Since the BJP is one short of a majority in the Council, the support of Lakhan Jarkiholi, an Independent MLC from Belagavi, is necessary for the smooth passage of bills if the Janata Dal(S) refuses to back the ruling party. Being aware of this, the Gokak MLA is playing the cards close to his chest to make sure the BJP will approach him when it needs his support.

But Ramesh seems to have lost his control over Belagavi with the emergence of Satish Jarkiholi and Lakshmi Hebbalkar as strong Congress leaders. In recent years, he has also lost the support of other MLAs in the district. As for BJP leaders, they have stopped defending the Gokak MLA. The saffron party has taken his claim of bringing another 14 to 16 MLAs from the Congress with a pinch of salt.