BELAGAVI: After his relentless attempts to herd at least 15 Congress MLAs into the BJP as part of Operation Lotus in recent weeks, disgruntled Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi has begun campaigning for the BJP in some areas of Belagavi constituency.
His brother, Minister Satish Jarkiholi, admitted in Belagavi on Wednesday that Ramesh is campaigning for the BJP and has also asked many of his associates from the Congress to join him.
Angry with Ramesh’s anti-party activities, Satish said the party high command had been asked to initiate stringent action against Ramesh. “We came to know that Ramesh is actively involved in the BJP’s election campaign in several parts of Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency. As far as developmental work is concerned, Ramesh has been a big zero as an MLA,” said Satish.
Despite Ramesh’s close association with BJP leaders for the past few months, the Congress high command had let him go scot-free. Sources said he may quit the Congress soon and join the BJP, to contest the next assembly election from Gokak. By staying away from the Congress and its Lok Sabha election campaigns, Ramesh has made it clear to party leaders that he is already out.