To protect their political empire from being poached, four brothers of the Jarkiholi family have put aside their political affiliations to form a united front, driving a wedge within the Congress ranks in this critical north Karnataka district.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had reportedly moved quickly to heal the rift by offering Satish Jarkiholi's daughter, Priyanka, the Chikkodi seat, but things may have already spiralled out of control.  

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 Satish Jarkiholi is the Public Works Department minister in the Congress government, while his brothers Balachandra and Ramesh are in the BJP, and Lakhan, an Independent MLC. Satish's daughter Priyanka may be contesting as the Congress candidate in Chikkodi constituency of the district against the sitting BJP MP Anna Saheb Jolle. But the bigger concern to the Jarkiholi family is the contest for the Belagavi seat, between former chief minister Jagadish Shettar of BJP and Mrinal Hebbalkar, son of Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar.

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Sources in the district said Balachandra, Ramesh and Lakhan have decided to forget their differences and support their niece Priyanka even though she is from the Congress. And in Belagavi, they are uniting their forces against Mrinal, to stop the Hebbalkars from emerging as an alternative force in the district.\

Despite strong opposition from the local unit, Laxmi Hebbalkar managed to get the ticket for her son. She has a good equation with the State Congress chief D K Shivakumar and her meteoric rise has upset many local leaders. After becoming an MLA, and a minister subsequently, she succeeded in getting her brother Channaraj Hattiholi elected to the upper house of the state legislature.

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To cut her to size, the Jarkiholis are learnt to have decided to support the BJP star candidate Jagadish Shettar in Belagavi. Laxmi Hebbalkar was a novice when the Jarkiholi brothers were the dominant force but her rise has put the brothers to shade. Having checked the growth of other ambitious political families such as the Kattis, Hukkeris and Angadis, they are determined now to halt Laxmi's march as well.

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The electorate of Belagavi have stayed loyal to the Jarkiholi family because they run the sugar factories to which the farmers supply sugarcane. Since they belonged to different political parties, one of the brothers would be a minister in every government, serving their interests well.

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For the Jarkiholis, a victory for Shettar would not matter much since he hails from neighbouring Dharwad district and he would not be a threat to them politically. In contrast, a Mrinal win would mean the Hebbalkars would have a minister, an MP and an MLC in the family, making them all-powerful. To prevent such an eventuality, the Jarkiholis seem ready for any compromise, and their unified battle to protect their territory will be keenly watched in this battle for one-upmanship in Belagavi.