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Karnataka: Jarkiholi, Hebbalkar’s children shortlisted as Cong candidates from Belagavi and Chikkodi
Children of ministers Satish Jarkiholi and Lakshmi Hebbalkar have been named on the shortlist of candidates to contest for the Congress from Belagavi and Chikkodi parliamentary constituencies
Children of ministers Satish Jarkiholi and Lakshmi Hebbalkar have been named on the shortlist of candidates to contest for the Congress from Belagavi and Chikkodi parliamentary constituencies, people aware of the development said.
“The District Congress Committee (DCC), in its recent meeting held to shortlist candidates at minister Jarkiholi’s home office in Bengaluru, attended by all present and former elected representatives and office bearers, unanimously shortlisted the candidates,” said Belagavi district Congress president Vinay Navalgatti.
Navalgatti, who also applied for the Belagavi seat, expressed happiness over the shortlisted candidates, stating that all those chosen are eligible and can easily win the election. Jarkiholi’s daughter, Priyanka, and Lakshmi’s son, Mrunal, are among the two candidates shortlisted for both constituencies in the district. Priyanka has applied for Chikkodi, while Mrunal seeks the Belagavi seat. Additionally, Lakshmanrao Chingale is another candidate for Chikkodi, and Girish Sonwalkar for the Belagavi constituency, sources added. Anjali Nimbalkar, a former legislator who represented the Khanapur constituency in the last body, has been chosen to contest from the Canara constituency in Karwar.
“Anjali, the wife of senior IPS officer Hemant Nimbalkar, hails from a powerful political family in Maharashtra. She was a legislator in the previous term. Dr Anjali, who is a medical practitioner by profession, is from a politically influential family in Maharashtra and is married to senior IPS officer Hemant Nimbalkar,” said a senior leader.
Six aspirants had applied from Chikkodi, while eight expressed interest in contesting from the Belagavi constituency.
Both Jarkiholi and Lakshmi - who are from the Belagavi district, recently announced that none from their family would contest from Chikkodi or Belagavi seats.
Jarkiholi, who is among the state high command team, recently stated that the Chikkodi seat would be reserved for a candidate from the Kuruba (shepherd) community, and Belagavi for the Lingayat community. Chingale, the other member in the two-member list for Chikkodi, belongs to the same community, while Dr. Sonwalkar is from the Reddy caste, falling under the Lingayat community. Dr. Sonwalkar, also a medical practitioner, hails from an RSS background and joined Congress through Minister Jarkiholi.
The Congress party has tasked Jarkiholi, handling the major portfolio of the Public Works Department, to regain the Belagavi seat, and Lakshmi, heading the Women and Child Development ministry, to bring back the Chikkodi constituency to the party fold.
Regarding the Canara (Uttara Kannada) constituency, the DCC has selected Dr. Anjali, a Marathi speaker, to contest as winning possibilities for the party are higher than in previous elections. BJP’s Anantkumar Hegde is representing the constituency for the record seventh term. The constituency in Belagavi covers Khanapur and part of the Kittur assembly constituencies, said the leaders.
