BELAGAVI: For the first time in the last 17 years, Karnataka has seen a state cabinet without a member from the influential Jarkiholi family of Gokak finding a place. In all the state cabinets formed by various political parties in the state since 2004, at least one of the Jarkiholi brothers had been able to secure a place. However, the BJP government headed by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has put a brake on the reign of the Jarkiholis.
The Jarkiholi family has been able to scale dizzy heights in state politics ever since MLAs Satish Jarkiholi, Ramesh Jarkiholi and Balachandra Jarkiholi entered electoral politics. Ramesh and Balachandra have won six assembly elections in a row from Gokak and Arabhavi respectively while Satish won twice as MLC before he won the last three elections straight to the state assembly from Yamakanmardi.
Ramesh Jarkiholi had stepped down as Water Resources Minister in the BS Yediyurappa cabinet after he was caught in a sex-CD scandal recently.
The ministerial spree of the Jarkiholis began in 2004 with Satish entering the cabinet of former CM (late) Dharam Singh. He was Textile Minister in the cabinet and two years later, Balachandra Jarkiholi entered the cabinet of BJP/JDS coalition government.
After the exit of CM Yediyurappa who was replaced by Jagadish Shettar in 2008, Balachandra Jarkiholi made it to the cabinet as Public Administration Minister and held the portfolio until 2012.
Satish Jarkiholi once again entered the cabinet when the Congress party formed the government under Siddaramaiah in 2013. However, Satish did not stay long in the cabinet and was replaced by his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi.
In 2018, Ramesh once again became Public Administration minister in the state cabinet. After his entry into the cabinet of BS Yediyurappa, Ramesh became Water Resources Minister and held the portfolio until he resigned following the scandal.
The BJP top brass, however, has assured the Jarkiholi brothers of reinducting Ramesh into the cabinet once he gets a clean chit. According to sources, the Jarkiholi brothers did have an offer from the BJP to make way for Balachandra into the cabinet of Basavaraj Bommai but Balachandra denied the offer as he already held the post of chairman of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).