Bengaluru:  BJP MLA and former Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi on Monday met Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai amidst speculation over cabinet expansion and gaining a majority in the Upper House with the support of Jarkiholi brothers to pass legislation including the Anti-Conversion Bill.

There are signs that the BJP could induct one of the three Jarkiholi brothers -- Ramesh, Bhalachandra and Lakhan -- from Belagavi district into cabinet expansion as the party enters the last year of its tenure.

The BJP is also keen to gain a clear majority in the Upper House by gaining the support of Lakhan Jarkiholi to pass pending legislation, including the Anti-Conversion Bill, which was passed in the state assembly during the winter session in December.

Lakhan Jarkiholi had contested the last MLC polls an an Independent after the BJP central leadership denied a request from Ramesh Jarkiholi to field his younger brother as the second candidate from Belagavi district.

This resulted in the BJP losing one of the bicameral MLC seats from Belagavi district, which created ripples in Belagavi politics, creating a wedge between minister Umesh Katti and Jarkiholi factions.

The fighting between the two factions prompted the party leadership, including Bommai, to resolve the matter to check any further erosion of the party's prospects in the district, which sends 18 MLAs to the assembly.

Ramesh Jarkiholi has been lobbying for gaining re-entry into the state cabinet after he was asked to resign in March last year following a sex CD controversy involving him. The former Minister rubbished it saying it was a honey trap laid by a group for extortion.

The meeting between Bommai and Ramesh Jarkiholi comes in the wake of the former's plans to visit New Delhi ahead of the joint and state budget sessions.
Every visit of the Chief Minister to Delhi triggers speculations of a possible cabinet expansion.