Belagavi: The decade-long enmity between Jarkiholi brothers and Belagavi MP Suresh Angadi which damaged party's prospects in several elections in Belagavi region in the last few years has finally come to an end. Attempts by the BJP state leadership to unite BJP's MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi and Angadi paid off as both of them joined hands assuring party leaders of working together in the coming elections. Ahead of elections to local bodies, taluk and zilla panchayats, the state BJP leadership was keen to workout a compromise between Jarkiholi and Angadi. In the last elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly, the BJP suffered badly due to the continued enmity between both leaders. The politically-powerful Jarkiholi family headed by Balachandra had worked against Mr Angadi in the last election but the latter scraped through because of the Narendra Modi wave. The party's prospects in several assembly segments also got affected due to the same reason in last assembly election.
Indirectly, all Jarkiholi brothers including Balachandra supported Congress party candidate Laxmi Hebbalkar in last Lok Sabha election which later came under severe criticism from BJP leaders including the triumphant Angadi.
The BJP is aware of damage that the Jarkiholis could cause to the party in the state if Mr Angadi continues to be at loggerheads with them. Two weeks ago, state BJP president Pralhad Joshi and former CM Jagadish Shettar held a meeting to appeal to Balachandra and Angadi to join hands.
