BELAGAVI: A day after his victory in the MLC election from the Belagavi local body constituency, Independent candidate Lakhan Jarkiholi has attributed the loss of BJP candidate Mahantesh Kavatgimath to a 'confidential meeting' held by a group of leaders from both the BJP and Congress a few days prior to the election.
He hit out at BJP leaders who were blaming his brother MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi for the loss of the BJP candidate in Belagavi and said it was only due to the 'confidential meeting' of a group of 'self-declared' leaders of the Congress and BJP in Belagavi that the BJP candidate got defeated. "It is unfortunate that the leaders are now trying to hold Ramesh Jarkiholi responsible for the defeat of the BJP candidate,'' he reiterated.
Lakhan said he would have emerged winner, bagging the first preferential votes if his brothers, Ramesh and Balachandra Jarkiholi, had rallied behind him in the election. The BJP could not retain the seat in Belagavi despite having 13 MLAs and two MPs in the district, he said, adding that a section of party leaders blamed Ramesh for the defeat needlessly. He questioned whether the same leaders would have given him any credit if the party leader had won the seat.
It was possible to bolster the BJP only through Ramesh Jarkiholi in Belagavi, he said. "If the leaders think Ramesh is to be blamed, then it should be assumed that Ramesh is stronger than all the other 13 MLAs in the district,'' he said.
For a good performance in the 2023 election in the state, the BJP should involve Ramesh and make best use of him, he suggested.