Vijayapura MP Ramesh Jigajinagi hints he may not contest Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka

Party sources maintain that Mr Jigajinagi knows that he is not likely to be fielded again. He also knows who the likely candidate is, they say.

Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi, Vijayapura MP, who is among the senior Dalit leaders in the BJP, has indicated that he may not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The six-time MP and three-time minister in the State Cabinet told a party meeting in Vijayapura that he would contest only if he is nominated by the BJP. “Or else, I will support the candidate chosen by the party. I do not know who it is yet,” he said. “I have worked for the welfare of my people for five decades. I am content. I do not have any other political ambition. If I am not the candidate, I will remain a common party worker,” he said.

The 72-year-leader also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had released over ₹1 lakh crore in development funds to Vijayapura district in 10 years. The former Union Minister gave no further details.

Party sources maintain that Mr. Jigajinagi knows that he is not likely to be fielded again. He also knows who the likely candidate is, they say. According to a former MLC who is a member of the election committee, “The BJP high command is considering fielding former Deputy CM Govind Mukhtappa Karjol, who is a distant relative of Mr Jigajinagi. The MP is aware of this development.”

Mr Karjol was an employee of the Public Works Department in Karnataka. Mr Jigajinagi was instrumental in inducting him into politics when the Janata Dal was looking for a candidate in 1994. Mr. Karjol quit his government job, contested the election, and won. In 2023, he lost his Mudhol Assembly seat to Ramappa Balappa Thimmapur.

Both Mr. Jigajinagi and Mr. Karjol are leaders of the left-hand faction among the Scheduled Castes. Some BJP leaders credit Mr. Jigajinagi’s entry into the BJP for the apparent shift of the left-hand community towards the BJP in the last two decades.