Municipal Administration Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi today said he will make sure his brother Satish Jarkiholi becomes the Chief Minister. He did not say when.
He told presspersons who met him at his residence that he was never in the race for the post but his younger brother was very much in the race. Asked if he was hinting about the Congress- JD(S) government not completing its term, he said ‘no’.
He also clarified that he and his brothers would never quit the Congress. “We are committed Congressmen. We will remain so. There is no question of leaving this party to join the BJP or any other party. But I request the Congress high command not to hurt us following false allegations by other leaders,” he said.
“Those who think we brothers are fighting amongst ourselves are living in a fool’s paradise. We are united and respect each other. We may have differences of opinion or even ideology. But we are all very close to each other,’’ he said.
Mr. Satish Jarkiholi had to clarify what his brother meant. He did not shy away from admitting his Chief Ministerial ambitions. “He (Ramesh Jarkiholi) has said he will try to make me Chief Minister but that is not going to happen immediately. There is still time for me to become Chief Minister. May be around 10 years. We have to see how many leaders will support us and how the people of the State react to it.” Mr. Satish said he was not interested in fighting the Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket from Belagavi next year. “But if the party high command thinks I should represent the party in the polls, I will do it.”
About rumours of a possible marriage between Mr. Ramesh Jarkiholi’s son and BJP leader and former Minister B. Sriramulu’s daughter, Mr. Satish Jarkiholi said it was a personal matter concerning the Jarkiholi clan and was not to be viewed politically. He did not confirm if the reports were true.
