Hebbalkar thumbs nose at Ramesh Jarkiholi

NT Correspondent

Haveri: There was no love lost between Minister for Women and Child Development Laxmi Hebbalkar and BJP MLA from Gokak Ramesh Jarkiholi as she mocked the latter for trying and failing to ensure her defeat from her constituency Belagavi Rural.

“You saw what they said. You must have come across it in the media. They were saying we’ll buy votes for Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 and that we’ll do this, that and the other. I won't say much more about this person. Elections are done. The people have answered them. Congress is functioning in an excellent manner thanks to the blessings of the people,” Hebbalkar told a crowd in Haveri.

She was referring to Ramesh Jarkiholi proclaiming back in January that each voter would receive a gift worth ?6,000 from the BJP in the lead up to the Assembly elections.

“It has come to my notice that she (Hebbalkar) is distributing gifts to her constituents. She may have gifted some kitchen appliances such as a cooker and a mixer, worth ? 1,000 or so. She might even shower you with more gifts. However, they might not amount to more than Rs 3,000. In fact, I request you to not vote for our (BJP’s) candidate if we don’t give you Rs 6,000,” Ramesh had said in his native Belagavi district’s Sulebhavi village.

In 2019, Hebbalkar and Ramesh had fought for the control of the Primary Land Development (PLD) bank and now Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had intervened in Laxmi’s favour.

A miffed Ramesh had taken his protégé and then Athani MLA Mahesh Kumathalli with him to the BJP. Not only that but he had helped the saffron party poach 14 Congress MLAs and three JD(S) ones, toppling the HD Kumaraswamy-led coalition government. Enough of them had won their by-polls to bring the BJP to power.