BELAGAVI: Ramesh Jarkiholi’s fairly long drawn rebellion appears to be yielding some results. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is learnt to have offered the disgruntled Congress MLA a cabinet berth to prevent a political turmoil in the state that could destabilise the JD(S)-Congress coalition government, especially after the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results.

Sources said Kumaraswamy had a friendly chat with the former minister over the phone and also offered him the choice of joining the JD(S). Jarkiholi could be inducted into the cabinet immediately if he switches sides, the sources said adding that his inclusion into the government could be delayed if he agrees to the terms of chief minister, but without crossing over to the JD(S).

Jarkiholi’s response to the tempting offer is not known yet.However, Kumaraswamy’s move comes at a risk. If Jarkiholi is inducted into the cabinet - his younger brother Satish is already a minister - it could antagonise a string of other ministerial aspirants in both the Congress and the JD(S). But the sources said the chief minister is willing to take the risk and face any eventuality.

Many leaders in Congress and JD(S) are not keen on Kumaraswamy’s idea of wooing a rebel like Jarkiholi, but the coalition leadership is anxious about keeping the flock together.Dumped by the Congress, Jarkiholi has resorted to a full-blown rebellion by hobnobbing with the BJP.

According to sources, the Gokak strongman has already made some kind of commitment to the BJP, but is finding it tough to work on Operation Lotus which a section of the saffron party wants him to carry out.Having announced recently that he would quit the Congress, Jarkiholi has given clear indications that he is prepared for a by-election by resigning as MLA. It remainsto be seen if he accepts the chief minister’s offer.

Ramesh abandons Gokak in pursuit of rebellion 
Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi has virtually abandoned his constituency of Gokak owing to his inexhaustible rebel activities for the past few months. As a result, the five-time MLA, who has been an undisputed leader of Gokak since 1999, is not only losing his foothold in Gokak but also his link with people and local bodies. His losening grip on Gokak city municipality has become a cause for concern for him. Before heading to Bengaluru last weekend,  he hastily conducted a meeting with members of the Gokak muncipality and asked them to take a stand on whether they would support him or his brothers Satish and Lakhan.

After Satish named Lakhan as the Congress in-charge of Gokak, the latter held a meeting with municipality members and said that no one intervened in the affairs of the civic body for the last 20 years when Ramesh took care of it. “Now that Ramesh has ignored the local body, his (Ramesh’s) brother-in-law Ambirao Patil is handling  its affairs,” Lakhan said. He appealed to all members to support him and Satish in the coming days.