Minister and Congress leader Lakshmi Hebbalkar campaigned for Congress candidate from Chikkodi Priyanka Jarkiholi in some villages in the constituency on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Meanwhile, district in-charge Minister Satish Jarkiholi has campaigned for Congress candidate from Belagavi seat Mrinal Hebbalkar in the last few weeks.
While Priyanka is Mr. Jarkiholi’s daughter, Mrinal is Ms. Hebbalkar’s son.
Raibag meeting
Ms. Hebbalkar addressed a meeting in Raibag on Tuesday. She described Priyanka as an innocent but intelligent girl. Politics is not new to the Jarkiholi family. Everybody knows that Ms. Jarkiholi will seek political advice from her father whenever needed. And, due to her enthusiasm and energy, the young leader will serve the Chikkodi parliamentary constituency and Belagavi district, Ms. Hebbalkar said.
Satish Jarkiholi had announced in a public meeting that a candidate for Chikkodi will be chosen from among the Kuruba community. But Priyanka was chosen on the advice of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, senior MLA Laxman Savadi and myself, she said.
She urged the people to give a chance to Priyanka Jarkiholi. “She is educated and committed. She will work in New Delhi as the voice of Karnataka and Chikkodi. Satish Jarkiholi has brought up his two children in such a way that they have developed a deep sense of social service,” Ms. Hebbalkar said.
The Minister said that Mr. Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar will address campaign meetings in Belagavi and Chikkodi constituencies. “They are likely to visit Belagavi district after the first round of polling in South Karnataka,” she said.
She said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas is only a slogan as the BJP has not given ticket to Muslims in Karnataka.
Chandagad meeting
At a meeting in Chandagad village, Priyanka Jarkiholi sought votes for the Congress as it is a party that stood for justice and comprehensive development.
“While other parties are supporters of status quo and want the existing inequalities to continue, the Congress dreams of an equal society based on equality before law and creation of equal opportunities. The various guarantee schemes have been introduced with that aim in mind and not for immediate political benefits,” she said.
She said that BJP Central and state leaders are misleading people by giving false promises. They promised two crore jobs per year. But where are the jobs? she said. She said that she was involved in social work for the past four-five years after her masters degree.
She asked Congress leaders and workers to go door to door and tell people about the schemes implemented by the Congress and the failures of the BJP.
Congress leader Arvind Karchi said that the BJP government is responsible for an increase in unemployment. BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have promised Acche Din. But even after 10 years, they have not made any efforts at that. He urged party workers to reach out to every voter in the constituency.
