We brought down JD(S)-Congress coalition government after Amit Shah agreed to our demand: Disqualified MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi

Disqualified MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, contesting on BJP ticket from Gokak, declared on Friday that the disqualified MLAs had brought down the coalition government after Home Minister Amit Shah agreed to their demand that B.S. Yediyurappa should be made the Chief Minister.

Mr. Jarkiholi, who joined the BJP, told his supporters in a rally that he had met Mr. Yediyurappa 14 months ago to plan the mass defections. “After I met Mr. Yediyurappa, we met BJP president Mr. Shah. I told him that I would join the BJP if Mr. Yediyurappa was made the Chief Minister. Mr. Shah asked us to go ahead and we brought down the government,” he said. “We decided to bring down the government on May 15 last year. We tried around 7 to 8 times. But finally, we succeeded,” he said. Mr. Jarkiholi said he was forced to quit the Congress due to “the interference of D.K. Shivakumar and the arrogance of Siddaramaiah”. He accused his brother Satish Jarkiholi of plotting against him.

“The Congress is being destroyed by egoistic leaders. If we try to complain against problems in the party, they brand us as dissident leaders,” he said. He appealed to Ashok Pujari, who had lost the last Assembly elections as a BJP nominee, not to quit the party. “He should support us in our campaign. The party will give him some important responsibility in the future,” Mr. Jarkiholi said.

Reacting to this, Mr. Satish Jarkiholi dismissed allegations and said he had joined the BJP as he was after power and not on ideological grounds.

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