Satish Jarkiholi. File.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
The Congress party will face the upcoming 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections under the capable leadership of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Satish Jarkiholi, minister and senior Congress leader, said in Belagavi on Monday (July 13, 2026).
“There is no question of ignoring former CM Siddaramaiah. It is clear that we will face the next elections under his leadership,” he told reporters at the Zilla Panchayat.
To a query, he said that there was no need to discuss a change of leadership in the AHINDA organisation. “The first priority before us is to strengthen the AHIND and expand its organisational base. If there are changes, they will be known from time to time. There is no need to highlight such issues now. All of us need to focus on organising the AHINDA communities now,’’ he said.
He said the party high command would take a final call on the cabinet expansion. “We are confident that the senior leaders will take an appropriate decision after considering all the factors that will benefit the party the most in the next elections,” he said.
About the demand from farmers for an increase in milk procurement prices, he said that the concerned Minister and the department would take appropriate decisions regarding this issue.
“There is currently no shortage of drinking water for people and livestock in the district. Sowing has been nearly completed, and there are indications that there would be rainfall. But if there is no timely rain, the government is committed to conducting a joint survey immediately and providing appropriate compensation to the farmers,’’ he said.
He demanded that the union government should take the case of the alleged diversion of funds from the Ayodhya Ram temple very seriously. “Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has already given strict advice and instructions to the concerned officials to ensure that such cases should not occur in Karnataka. The government believes that donation received from devotees should be used for the development works of those temples and we will work towards that,’’ he said.
Published – July 14, 2026 10:02 am IST
