Former Minister and Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi — who has distanced himself from the Congress for months now, but kept everyone guessing on his next move — has dropped broads hints that it was a matter of time before he officially quits the party.
“I am officially in the Congress now. But I don’t know when I will quit,” he told mediapersons near a polling booth in Gokak on Tuesday. This is the clearest sign from him that he would resign from the Congress, since he expressed displeasure about some leaders in Bengaluru six months ago.
Mr. Ramesh Jarkiholi said he had “heard from friends” that whenever a party worker faced a problem in the BJP, senior leaders would attend to it. “That does not happen in the Congress. You are left to fend for yourself,” he said.
Mr. Ramesh Jarkiholi has been upset about the alleged interference in Belagavi Congress affairs by Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
He denounced his brother and Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s statement that he was “throwing stones in the dark”, implying that he was trying to threaten others by vague actions.
However, Mr. Satish Jarkiholi retorted, at Gunjagol village: “If Ramesh wants to quit the party, he should not keep others guessing. He should resign at the earliest.”
The younger brother, Lakhan Jarkiholi, who was travelling with Satish Jarkiholi, said: “We will stay in the Congress and work for the party.”
While it is rumoured that Mr. Lakhan Jarkiholli would replace him in Gokak, Mr. Ramesh Jarkiholi said: “If my younger brother were to become the MLA for Gokak, I will be very happy. If Lakhan becomes the Congress candidate for Gokak, I will take a different political path.”
Family matters
Another brother, Balachandra Jarkiholi, who is a BJP MLA from Arabhavi, said that in “family matters” they were united, but when it came to politics, each brother had his own ideas. He said the BJP leadership would decide on the induction of Mr. Ramesh Jarkiholi. Mr. Balachandra Jarkiholi joined the saffron party after the Operation Lotus of 2008.
