BJP MLA Jarkiholi to meet Sriramalu today
Sriramalu, people familiar with the matter said, agreed to the meeting, triggering a new episode in the ongoing churn in the state BJP unit over the state leadership of BY Vijayendra
BJP legislator Ramesh Jarkiholi on Thursday approached party leader and former minister B Sriramalu for a meeting on Friday, with the development coming a day after the latter threatened to quit the party citing “insult”.
Sriramalu, people familiar with the matter said, agreed to the meeting, triggering a new episode in the ongoing churn in the state BJP unit over the state leadership of BY Vijayendra.
“Both Jarkiholi and Sriramalu are meeting in Bengaluru on Friday, along with others against Vijayendra,” a party worker close to Jarkiholi told HT, requesting anonymity.
Sriramulu on Wednesday expressed his dissatisfaction with the proceedings, alleging that BJP national general secretary Mohan Das Agarwal accused him of failing to contribute effectively during by-elections. In response, Sriramulu threatened to quit the party, citing humiliation and lack of recognition for his efforts.
During the meeting, Agarwal reportedly implied that Sriramulu had not done enough work during the by-elections. Reacting to the accusation, Sriramulu noted that neither he nor the Sadananda Gowda committee had submitted a report on the by-election defeat.
“I am not someone who would betray the party under any circumstances. I have consistently worked for the party. However, the absence of leadership at such a crucial moment has caused me immense pain. If my contributions are not recognised and I am subjected to such humiliation, I will leave the party,” Sriramulu said.
He added that it was his former associate, Gali Janardhan Reddy, who had given a bad report on him to the party high command.
Once close friends, former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy and Sriramalu grew apart due to personal reasons. The rift widened after Reddy claimed that the BJP lost the Sandoor by-election due to Sriramalu’s non-cooperation. People familiar with the matter said that Reddy, who merged his one-legislator party into the BJP, reiterated this point at a recent state BJP core committee meeting chaired by Karnataka in-charge Radha Mohandas Agarwal.
Reddy, representing the Gangavati assembly constituency, said at a news conference in Bengaluru on Thursday that he never spoke about Sriramalu at the core committee meeting. He emphasised that Sriramalu’s current political status was due to his own efforts, but acknowledged that Sriramalu bounced back due to deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar’s strategy to diminish Satish Jarkiholi’s influence in Congress.
Reddy stated that he told Sriramalu it was up to him to remain in the party or not. “I’m not responsible for Sriramalu’s anger and decision,” Reddy added.
