Bypoll: Ramesh Jarkiholi’s Sankalp Samavesh at Gokak today

Hubballi: Even as his fate hangs in balance along with that of other disqualified legislators, Ramesh Jarkiholi and his loyalists have organised a Sankalp Samavesh in his former assembly constituency of Gokak on Saturday reportedly to prepare for the byelection that has become necessary following his resignation from it.

His supporters claim that over 15,000 workers, including elected representatives of local governing bodies, will take part in the convention to be held before Mr  Jarkiholi’s house in the constituency.  

The meeting will chalk out a strategy for the Gokak byelection although the Supreme Court has given no decision yet on his disqualification by the  former Speaker following his decision to resign from the constituency and help the BJP topple the Kumaraswamy government.

Mr Jarkiholi has been in Delhi for weeks now to overturn the order of former Speaker, Ramesh Kumar to disqualify him in the Supreme Court along with the 16 other legislators, who too resigned to help the BJP come to power in the state.

But he now reportedly intends to come to Gokak on Saturday for the convention,  seeing that  former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah  visited Gokak recently with his brother,  Lakhan Jarkiholi, who is likely to contest the byelection on a Congress ticket.

Determind to showcase his strength in the face of the Congress challenge, Mr Ramesh Jarkiholi's  supporters intend to make a big  success of  the convention, according to sources. Almost all the elected representatives of the  zilla  and taluk panchayats and other local governing bodies of Gokak taluk still identify with the disqualified legislator and maintain that the convention is being held to bridge their “communication gap” with him since he has been away from the constituency for the last few months.

“We will stay with Ramesh Jarkiholi and fight for his victory in the by-election even if his brother, Lakhan  contests against him. It's not first time that Gokak will see a battle between two brothers as Bhimshi Jarkiholi was defeated by Ramesh in the 2008 Assembly polls,” said Mr Ramesh Jarkiholi's close associate and ZP member, Tukaram Kagal.