BELAGAVI: With bypolls being necessitated for the Belagavi Lok Sabha seat due the death of Minister of State for Railways, Suresh Angadi, the BJP, which lacks strong leaders in the region, is faced with the tough task of picking the probable candidates.
But on social media platforms, Amarnath Jarkiholi, son of Karnataka Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, has emerged as a favourite with several posts, projecting him as the potential BJP candidate for the Belagavi LS seat, going viral on on Sunday.
The Jarkiholi family has huge clout in the region and enjoys wide support in many assembly segments in Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency. Presently, three assembly seats are held by the Jarkiholi brothers in the district. This could the reason why supporters of Ramesh Jarkiholi want to have his son in the fray, sources indicated.
Though former MP Ramesh Katti, the State Government’s representative in New Delhi, Shankargouda Patil and some local leaders are in contention for the BJP ticket, the party may give a serious thought to having Amarnath as its candidate, considering the ‘winnability factor’, the sources said.
The Jarkiholis also wield considerable influence in many of the Marathi-majority areas in Belagavi LS constituency as well due to their cordial relations with several top leaders of Maharashtra in the border areas. On the other hand, several close associates of Suresh Angadi are demanding a ticket for either his wife or daughter, but their chances are bleak as Angadi’s family members have kept away from politics, party sources said.
Meanwhile, speaking to a section of the media on Sunday, Ramesh Jarkiholi denied exerting pressure on the BJP leadership for a ticket to his son and said he will rather want the BJP to give the ticket to a member of Angadi’s family. He said his son is not much experienced and is still too young to contest elections.