BELAGAVI: With December 5 bypolls knocking at the door, all five Jarkiholi brothers in Gokak are campaigning in full swing. Although they have been political rivals, Ramesh, Bhimshi and Balachandra Jarkiholi ironed out their differences to unite against brothers Lakhan and Satish. Youngest brother Lakhan, who spearheaded Ramesh’s election campaigns for three decades in Gokak, severed all ties with him and decided to face him head-on in the by-election as a Congress candidate, supported by his brother Satish. JDS candidate Ashok Pujari supported by former CM H D Kumaraswamy, is desperate to defeat Ramesh. In a triangular contest, Congress and JDS are mainly working to defeat Ramesh, rather than win the seat.
To counter the opposition, Ramesh ended a long-drawn political rivalry with Bhimshi. Their rivalry was the reason behind Bhimsi not attending Ramesh’s son’s wedding last year, which was held close to Bhimsi’s house. In 2008, Bhimsi contested the assembly election as a BJP candidate from Gokak and was defeated by Ramesh. Their sudden reconciliation has shocked many of their supporters. Talking to reporters, Bhimshi said that he has been active in politics and decided to support Ramesh as the time had come for Gokak to have its first BJP MLA.
While Satish calls Lakhan an able candidate to defeat Ramesh and bring a much-needed change in Gokak, Ramesh, on the other side, is confident of a cakewalk victory against the youngest sibling. Arabhavi MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi (BJP) is rallying behind Ramesh, confident of his sixth win as MLA in the coming bypolls. Gokak constituency has become a hotspot of bypolls as entire BJP state brigade, headed by Chief Minister is rallying behind Ramesh for leading the team of rebel MLAs to help form BJP government.