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| With eye on elections Mutts, shrines being visited frequently by top political leaders | | Behind the veil | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 31: Mutts and shrines are being frequently visited by top political leaders to seek blessings from seers and saints. Though Congress Preesident, Rahul Gandhi, started this practice as a secular leader. He visited four temples in poll bound Karnatka to oppose the BJP which claims to woo the Hindu voters.
However, the BJP president Amit Shah kicked off his two-day tour of Mysuru-Mandya-Chamarajanagar-Ramanagar belt by calling on the Suttur Mutt seer Sri Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji. Shah who arrived at Mysuru the other day, has a tight schedule with visits to slew of religious institutions like mutts and major temples including the Srikanteshwara temple at Nanjangud, Cheluvarauyswamy temple at Melukote besides interaction with booth level workers. He also has a dinner meeting slated with prominent scheduled caste and scheduled tribe leaders later in the day in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts. Shah's visit to the Suttur Mutt is significant given the vast following commanded by the seer in what is a prominent Lingayat-Veerashaiva belt where the BJP has failed to win a single seat in the 2013 elections. Though the party functionaries described the visit as a courtesy call and the Suttur mutt is stated to be apolitical, the political parties cannot disregard its influence over the masses and hence cultivate cordial relationship. When reminded of Rahul's visit to four temples in Karnataka former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram cautioned people against rumours that Rahul was trying to oppose the BJP's Hindu card. Chidambaram has stated that no political meaning should be attached with Rahul's visit to temples.
In the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had visited about 25 temples in the state in a bid to dispel the impression of his party being inimical to Hindu interests. With the Congress improving its tally in the state, Rahul appears set to repeat the strategy in Karnataka. According to a report he is slated to visit a Hindu temple, two religious centres of the Lingayat community and a dargah in the next week.
Clearly, with the election in Karnataka expected to be held in May, Rahul wants to be seen in the public eye as worshipping at prominent religious places. According to a report, Rahul will start off by visiting the Huligamma temple in Koppal district. Subsequently, he is slated to visit the Gavisiddeshwara Mutt, which is an important place of worship for the Lingayats. He is also expected to pay a visit to the Khwaja Bande Nawaz Dargah in the district of Gulbarga Shah was accompanied by the party leaders including the Chief Ministerial candidate and State BJP president B.S.Yeddyurappa and Union Minister Ananth Kumar. Shah subsequently visited the Palace and called on Pramodadevi Wadiyar, wife of four-time MP late Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar and the titular king Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.
His itinerary for the day also includes a visit to the house of RSS activist Raju who was murdered two years ago. The house is located in Kyatamaranahalli in the N.R. Constituency, a Congress bastion with a strong presence of the minorities and dalits and is perceived as an attempt to consolidate the Hindu votes. Lesser mortals wish to seek blessings of gods and goddesses for the purpose of securing voters support. And whenever some states are poll bound or the nation is faced with the General election these politicians remember God,pay respect to seers and saints. When in the absence of poll atmosphere these leaders forget these seers and saints. These leaders seldom visit shrines and Mutts. Finalising and apprising the workers of the strategy for micro-level electoral management through Booth Pramukhs are high on the agenda of Shah, say the party functionaries.
Sources in the BJP said the focus of Shah in his current tour is to galvanise the booth level workers as the party has realized the absence of a strong charismatic local leader who can carry the workers with them. Hence Shah will hold extensive interaction with nearly 5000 booth level workers of the three urban constituencies in Mysuru city at the Maharaja's College Grounds on Friday. This will be followed by a similar interactive programme with assembly constituencies in Chamarajanagar district. And these political leaders may visit shrines and Mutts while getting ready for the 2019 elections. Hope God is with those who remember Him. |
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