Belagavi: A mega plan is being chalked out by the Congress and the JDS to defeat rebel leader Ramesh Jarakiholi, who represented Gokak constituency before he was disqualified by former speaker Ramesh Kumar.
It may be recalled that it was Jarakiholi, who first revolted against the coalition government and eventually many joined hands with him, leading to the end result of the collapse of the coalition government at the state. It is now time for the former coalition partners-the Congress and the BJP to settle scores with him.
As per the reports, it is said that both Congress and JD(S) have decided to defeat Ramesh, keeping aside all the differences. Amid this, there are rumours that former chief minister Siddaramaiah who shared a close bond with Ramesh, has gone ahead and decided to defeat the latter. The party is expected to field Ashok Ningayya Pujari, who was the BJP ticket aspirant. The Congress leaders have opined that Ashok was the best contender to defeat Ramesh.
According to the BJP sources, Ramesh would be fielded as the BJP candidate in Gokak, once the Supreme Court verdict on disqualified MLAs is pronounced. However, the JD(S) has decided not to field any candidate in Gokak.
It can be recalled that earlier, in 2018 Assembly election, Ashok Pujari was defeated by Ramesh by 14, 280 votes. Hence it is suspected that this might be the reason behind the Congress pulling Ashok into its own folds.
