Badami: Congress banks on Satish Jarkiholi

Hubballi: With the BJP fielding Valmiki community strongman, B Sriramulu against CM Siddaramaiah in Badami, the Congress is  preparing to woo the Valmiki Nayaka voters with the help of its leader, Satish Jarkiholi, who is now in the thick of campaigning in the constituency.

Going by party sources, Mr Siddaramaiah held a meeting with Mr Jarkiholi soon after filing his nomination papers and sought his cooperation in countering his rival,  Sriramulu who is banking on the Valmiki community to defeat him.

While the BJP is clearly relying on the 35,000 Valmiki Nayaka voters in Badami assembly constituency besides the Veerashaiva-Lingayats, the Congress is banking on the Kurubas. But it has not given up on the Valmikis either and is hoping Mr Jarkiholi will be able to woo the community on its behalf.

The Congress leader has already held meetings with KPCC working president, S R Patil, Minister R B Timmapur and MLA, B B Chimmanakatti to chalk out a strategy to attract the community. “I have collected details about the party position at the booth level in the constituency. 

We will work hard to ensure the Chief Minister’s victory with a huge margin as this will help the overall development of North Karnataka. We should not see the CM as only a Kuruba leader or Sriramulu as the only Valmiki leader. People will vote for their preferred political party and caste will not come into play in the election,” he insisted.

Mr Jarkiholi is also reportedly working on gaining the support of independent candidates, especially from Kuruba and other backward communities, by persuading them to withdraw from the fray. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader, C M Ibrahim has been in Badami for the last few days to woo the Muslim voters, who are in sizeable number in the constituency to make sure that Mr Siddaramaiah can count on them as well.