Karnataka: Congress, BJP wooing mutts for Lingayat votes

Now, the high command of both parties has started a new exercise of directly meeting the prominent Lingayat leaders in the state to get the support of the disgruntled Lingayat community.

Bengaluru:The support of the largest number of voters Veerashaiva-Lingayats in the state is essential for both the BJP and the Congress. Now, the high command of both parties has started a new exercise of directly meeting the prominent Lingayat leaders in the state to get the support of the disgruntled Lingayat community. After the ouster of former Chief Minister Yediyurappa, the BJP high command is appealing to prominent Veerashaiva Lingayat Matadheesha's in the state mainly Suttur, Siddaganga, Chitradurga, Sirigere, Rambhapuri to support them.

Apart from former Chief Minister Yediyurappa, who is depicted as the leader of the Lingayat community, the BJP high command and the Sangh Parivar are making concrete efforts to approach the Swamijis of the Lingayat Mutts directly. While visiting the state, top leadership plans visit to important Mutts and seek the blessings of Swamijis, participating in the mutt's meetings, and ceremonies.

It is being said that the intention of the BJP and Congress is to send a message to the Lingayat community voters that we have the support of the Swamijis and the mutts. According to sources, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah who are the high command of the BJP, are in direct contact with the Suttur Mutt and Siddaganga Mutt."

During his visit to the state in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the programs of Suttur Mutt and received the blessings of Shivarathri Deshikendra Mahaswamiji. Also, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Siddaganga Mutt of Tumkur last April and also participated in the commemoration program of Shivakumar Swamiji, and gave a message that he is very close to Siddaganga Mutt.

Along with the BJP, some Sangh Parivar leaders are also visiting the Veerashaiva Lingayat Mutts and making continuous efforts to win the support of the Lingayat community back only to realize that it is difficult for any leader other than Yediyurappa to grow as a leader of Lingayat community. The intention of the BJP high command is to directly connect with the Lingayat Mutts and gain political advantage in the Assembly as well as Lok Sabha elections.

After the ouster of former CM Yediyurappa, the Congress party also started strategizing to attract the votes of the Lingayat community. Realizing the fact that the support of the Lingayat community is the main reason for the BJP to gain power in the state, the Congress High Command is also appealing to the Swamijis to attract the votes of the Lingayat community to the party. The Congress high command, which had been neglecting the Lingayats after the former CM Virendra Patil's administration is now eager to win back the trust of the Lingayat community.

Congress high command also realized that the words of the state Congress leaders will not carry enough weight and directly are in touch with the Swamijis of important Mutts. Rahul Gandhi, who is currently on a state tour on Wednesday visited Chitradurga Mutt -one of the important Lingayat Mutts of Karnataka, and held a meeting with Swamiji and received his blessings.

This year April, Rahul Gandhi also visited Tumkur Siddaganga Mutt. The support of Mutts is essential to win more constituencies and come to power in the state assembly elections. The BJP and the Congress high command are now engaging in the politics of appeasement in the background of the calculation that if the Lingayat Mutt who have a large number of devotees give the message, the victory of the party candidate will be easier.

The Veerashaiva Lingayat community plays a decisive role in the victory of candidates in approximately 150 assembly constituencies out of 224 assembly constituencies in the state. If one gets the support of Lingayats, the way to power will be smooth. The Congress and the BJP high command also calculated that since the Swamijis have a large number of devotees than other communities, they will get an advantage in the elections.

BJP has 43, Congress 14 and JDS 3 Veerashaiva Lingayat MLAs in the state assembly. The BJP and the Congress high command are of the clear view that the Lingayat community plays a crucial role in the victory of the Lingayat MLAs as well as the rest of the MLAs.