In a bid to woo lingayat voters, BJP president Amit Shah on Monday visited the Siddaganga Math in Tumakuru and sought the blessings of 110-year-old seer Sri Shivakumara Swamiji. He was accompanied by BJP chief ministerial face BS Yeddyurappa, Union Minister Anant Kumar, BJP political in-charge for Karnataka Muralidhar Rao and other leaders.
BJP has been demanding Bharat Ratna to the seer who has instrumental in educating thousands of students. The lingayat seers and mutts are in great demand after the state government decided to accord minority stauts to lingayats.
Shah, a master strategist, has visited Karnataka many times but this time it is crucial to get the support of the lingayat community, a committed votebank of the saffron party. At Tumakuru, the BJP chief expressed confidence of his party coming back to power with a comfortable majority under the leadership of former Chief Minister Yeddyurappa. He said BJP should win more than 150 seats in the 224-member Assembly. “They party had spread its wings across the country by winning elections in 22 States and the next will be Karnataka,” he added. later, speaking to coconut growers in Tipatur, he said that fearing a debacle in the May Assembly elections in Karnataka, the Congress was out to divide the dominant Veerashiva-lingayat community against the wishes of people. “The party’s move is akin to the erstwhile British rulers in the country who had resorted to the divide and rule policy,” he said. “Before leaving the country, the Britishers divided the people and country on religious lines and the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka was committing a similar mistake,” he alleged.
He added: “The Congress had not discussed the lingayat issue for the last five years and was doing it when election was nearing for narrow political gains. This was a ploy to stop Yeddyurappa from becoming the Chief Minister again as he belongs to the community. But this cruel plan will not work. Don’t get carried away with the vicious plan of the Chief Minister which was against the interest of Veerashiva-lingayat community. Siddaramaiah is an anti-Hindu leader.” Shah said Karnataka had become a top exporter of dry coconut after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. He said due to pro-farmer policies, the coconut was now being exported due to value addition and different products produced out of it. “Earlier, India had witnessed import of dry coconut from Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri lanka and the Union Government has stopped it now,” he added.
“I appeal to you to ensure BJP’s victory, strengthen the hands of Yeddyurappa and leave the job of setting up the institute to him,’’ he said.
The BJP leader said it was time the people of the state voted out the “corrupt Congress” from Karnataka and blesses BJP. Shah’s two-day tour in Karnataka is well-planned and a bid to counter Rahul and Siddaramaiah’s whirlwind tour of the state. Keeping Siddaramaiah government’s decision to accord separate religion tag to lingayats in mind, Shah will be visiting four important lingayat mutts in the state.
Shah will also visit an ancient lingayat mutt, Bekkina Kalmata in Shimoga. On Tuesday, he will go to Davanagere another lingayat stronghold where Yeddyurappa wields considerable clout. The BJP chief will meet powetful lingayat seer Dr Shivamurthy Shivacharya of Tharalabalu mutt at Sirigere seeking his support. Shah will visit Dalit seer Madara Channaiah Swamy at Chitradurga. Swamy is seeking a BJP ticket in the Assembly elections. The BJP is making an all-out effort to unseat the Congress from the only big state where the grand old party is in power. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has also been frequenting the state and visited holy places linked to different religions and castes in the four rounds of tour undertaken by him so far.