BELAGAVI: After virtually taking the Congress as also the coalition government “for a ride” over the last few weeks by indulging in rebel activities and threatening to topple the government, former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi has now “disappeared.” On Tuesday afternoon, after he flew to Belagavi from Bengaluru, his personal cell phone was switched off and none of his friends in Gokak have any clue about his whereabouts since then.
However, one of his friends from Belagavi, who was with him since the last few weeks until he reached Belagavi on Tuesday, said Jarkiholi had planned to meet BJP leaders in Mumbai to workout his defection to the party along with 15 Congress MLAs. Jarkiholi had discussed with him about going to Delhi from Mumbai in order to meet some more top leaders of the BJP to work out a strategy, he said on the condition of anonymity.
No one in the Congress, including Chairman of Coordination Committee of the coalition government Siddaramaiah, knows where he is. Even his brother, Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi, is unaware of his whereabouts. On his arrival in Belagavi after the cabinet expansion in Bengaluru, Satish Jarkiholi that he would meet Ramesh Jarkiholi the same day and persuade him not to quit the Assembly.
Satish expressed confidence while speaking to the media that Ramesh would never resort to anti-Congress activities, even as the latter had openly admitted last week that he had decided to quit his Assembly seat. However, Satish has not been able to trace his brother.
Siddaramaiah had said that Ramesh must be upset for being dropped from the cabinet. He said Ramesh would not take any decision against the Congress.
Many BJP leaders, including MLA Umesh Katti and other top leaders, have asserted that several disgruntled Congress legislators in Karnataka are in touch with the BJP leadership.
With hardly any clue about what is brewing between Jarkiholi and the BJP leadership, his close friends back home in Gokak are confident that he would not back off from his mission to damage the
coalition government, “come what may”.