Congress leader Siddaramaiah criticised the former Minister and BJP candidate Ramesh Jarkiholi at a campaign rally in Gokak on Monday.
“Ramesh Jarkiholi has created an atmosphere of fear in Gokak. If democracy has to prevail in this taluk, the people should vote out the BJP candidate and vote for the Congress,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
“The MLA here has ruled the taluk by frightening the poor voters, who are the real rulers. However, the people of the taluk need not fear any more. We are all with you. This is a democracy and there is no need to fear anyone. You should vote them out fearlessly and strengthen democracy,” he said.
He said that the State government has not sanctioned a single new house for the poor in the villages or cities and asked the gram panchayat and municipal body members present in the crowd to counter his claim.
He said that the Congress government under his leadership had sanctioned 15 lakh houses in five years. Forget sanctioning new houses, the BJP government led by Basavaraj Bommai has not released money for houses that have already been sanctioned and are in the process of being completed, he said.
He said that Ramesh Jarkiholi had resigned from the Congress not on the basis of any principle, but because of his lust for power. “He resigned along with his friends, to uproot the alliance government and come to power. But he could not remain a Minister, due to his own mistakes. Everyone knows why and how he lost his Cabinet membership, I will not spell it out,” he said.
The former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, who addressed the rally, said that it might seem that the number of people in the rally were fewer than Congress rallies in other places. But there is a reason for it. All those who are attending this rally are committed workers. They are like powerful seeds. Mr. Siddaramaiah has sown them in Gokak today. They will sprout multiple times, to yield a great crop, he said.
He said that some people had asked him if he was going to the Gokak rally. “I told them that it was my district and I would go there fearlessly. Do I need a passport for entering Gokak?” he said.
Responding to Ramesh Jarkiholi’s claim that he would spend half his time in Athani to defeat him, Mr. Savadi said that he would invite Ramesh Jarkiholi to stay at his home and campaign against him. He said that the BJP was throwing out good leaders one by one, as it had decided that it would sit in the Opposition by winning 45-55 seats only.
“I was the first candidate to be pushed out of the BJP. I seek justice from you to judge who is a good candidate and who is not and deliver your judgment on May 10,” Mr. Savadi said. He said that this election is being fought on the issue of self-respect and not mere electoral gains.
Leaders Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Satish Jarkiholi, Congress candidates Mahantesh Kadadi and Arvind Dalwai and others were present.
