Before the bypoll campaign heat picked up in Gokak Assembly constituency, Ramesh Jarkiholi, disqualified MLA who is now contesting on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket, had said it would be a cakewalk for him if the Congress were to pitch his brother Lakhan Jarkiholi against him. “I will go on a trip after filing nominations and come back to receive the fatah nama (victory certificate) on the day of the counting,” he had said.
Closer to the polling date, however, competition seems to be tougher than what Mr. Ramesh had thought. He is seen touring the constituency extensively. At a mosque at Mamadapur village earlier this week, he asked the namazi s to vote for him “as Ramesh Jarkiholi” and not as a BJP candidate.
JD(S) stays on
The contest seems to have heated up by the insistence of Ashok Pujari, Janata Dal (Secular) candidate, of staying in the fray despite pressure from the BJP to withdraw in favour of Mr. Ramesh. Mr. Pujari, who switched loyalties after the BJP denied him ticket, is a Veerashaiva Lingayat leader and is expected to reduce the number of that community’s votes going to the BJP.
On the other hand, Mr. Ramesh’s brothers Satish Jarikiholi and the Congress candidate, Mr. Lakhan, are not wasting a moment to ask the people to defeat the brother who is now their political opponent. Mr. Satish has accused Mr. Ramesh of joining the BJP to help his brother-in-law Ambiraya Patil achieve his political ambitions of becoming a BJP leader in Maharashtra. The campaign has been centred around accusations and counter-accusations between the brothers.
The brothers are among the richest candidates in Belagavi district. Mr. Ramesh and his dependents have total assets of ₹95 crore, while Lakhan and his family have total declared assets of ₹40 crore. Mr. Pujari has about ₹2.5 crore in movable and immovable assets. The constituency that borders Bagalkot has been a citadel of the Jarkiholi family since 1999. It has sent non-Congress candidates to the Assembly only three times since the Independence.
Critics of the family
The dominance of the family in the political arena, however, has not gone down well with many.
“There are five Jarkiholi brothers and if all of them join different parties, then it can be assumed that power will stay in their family irrespective of which party is in power in the State. That was why we had asked the Congress to give ticket to a leader from outside the family. But it was not accepted,” said a veteran Congress leader, Basavanneppa Patil.
