CHIKKODI: Independent candidate and retired IAS officer Shambhu Kallolkar could likely face trouble ahead of voting as an FIR was filed against him for consuming meat at the Avajikar Math at Hukkeri and assaulting the seer.
Shambhu Kallolkar had returned to Hukkeri from campaign elsewhere and has been accused of consuming meat at the Avajikara Dhyana Yogashram. When Malleshwara Swami, the seer of the math, objected to his, Kallolkar and his supporters are accused of assaulting him. Malleshwara Swami later filed a complaint with the Hukkeri police stations
Shambu Kallolkar was an IAS officer in Tamil Nadu and after his retirement, he had contested the last Assembly election from Raibabh constituency as an Independent and lost by a thin margin. This time, after the Congress denied him a ticket for the Lok Sabha election, he decided to checkmate Minister Satish Jarkiholi and is contesting as an Independent from Chikkodi Lok Sabha constituency. Being an influential candidate among the Dalits, Kallolkar is expected to split Congress votes in the constituency.