Belagvi (Karnataka) [India]: Former minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Gokak Assembly constituency Ramesh Jarkiholi on Wednesday alleged that Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar tried to blackmail him to “back up” from the polls by threatening to release a CD.
Requesting the Union Home Minister to hand over this alleged case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Jarkiholi said, “I am strong. I am not scared of any CDs and threats.”
“Whatever it could be I don’t and I’ll never stay back. I request the upcoming CM and Home Minister to take action against him and give a case to CBI so that hundreds of families live peacefully,” he added.
The BJP leader alleged that he got a call at midnight.
“I got a call and I don’t want to reveal from where I got a call, DK Shivakumar blackmailed me at midnight at 12:30 and treated me to backup from Belagavi rural constituency. We will win 13 seats. He (Shivakumar) should come out of “Vishakanya” hands (Laxmi Hebbalkar). You should ask him, he again said last night that he will release one more CD,” Jarkiholi told reporters.
The BJP leader further claimed that he will again be “blackmailed”.
“He will blackmail me again. I know that, but I’ll tell him, he must come out of “Vishakanye”. He threatens me because he knows BJP high command loves me,” the leader said.
The BJP has fielded Nagesh Manolkar from Belagavi Rural while the Congress has fielded Laxmi Hebbalkar, the sitting MLA as its candidate.
Jarkiholi tendered his resignation on March 3, 2021, from his post over his alleged involvement in the sexual assault of a woman.
The purported sex tape showed the minister in a compromising position with the woman.
The case had come to light on March 2, 2021, when Kallahalli, a social activist, lodged a complaint with the police and demanded a probe into a sex scandal against Jarkiholi, while he was Karnataka’s Major and Medium Water Resources Minister.
Jarkiholi, however, has been denying all allegations and claiming the videos as fake.
Earlier in January this year too, the leader had accused the latter of hatching a conspiracy against him over the sex CD case.
Voting is currently underway for 224 assembly constituencies in Karnataka with 2,615 candidates in the fray.
According to the Election Commission of India, the majority mark to form the government is 113 seats.
A total of 42,48,028 new voters have been registered to vote for the assembly elections.
Some of the key constituencies which will make a major mark in the polls are Varuna, Kanakapura, Shiggaon, Hubli-Darwad, Channapatna, Shikaripura, Chittapur, Ramanagara, and Chikmagalur.
