BJP split wide open in Jarkiholi turf as it eyes 15 of 18 seats in Belagavi district

BELAGAVI: Belagavi district, which has 18 Assembly constituencies, the second highest after Bengaluru, could prove a headache for the BJP senior leadership factionalism still prevailing ahead of the polls. The party has set itself a target of winning at least 15 seats here.

Other Lingayat leaders from Belagavi district have kept away from Gokak.

However, with weeks to go for polling, the party in the district still seems a divided house with the Jarkiholi brothers on one side and the other on the other. The other Lingayat leaders like Laxman Savadi, Shashikala Jolle and Eranna Kadadi are hesitant to enter Gokak and even though two programmes were held in just one month, they chose to skip the events. They even stayed away from the Vijay Sankalp Yatra.

Leaders like Laxman Savadi, Shashikala Jolle and Eranna Kadadi did not even take part in the Vijay Sankalp Yatra.

The factionalism is so pronounced that even Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s recent visit to Gokak to inaugurate various development works could not bring them on one stage. Their pictures were also missing on the banners which featured only the Jarkiholi brothers. How the BJP brass will deal with the factionalism remains to be seen.