GADAG: A temple of Lord Shiva located in a village in Gadag district is where candidates have been rushing to all these years. A belief that the candidate who visits the temple first, is blessed with victory in the election, has gotten the deity to be fondly called, ‘Election God’.
The temple in Myakalzeri village, is located 12 km from Gajendragad. As per the legend, candidates must visit the temple quietly without attracting any attention from the villagers, rival party candidates or supporters. The first candidate to pray at the temple is believed to see victory in elections.
For the last five decades, candidates contesting in General and Assembly elections and ULB polls have been visiting the temple for their success.
Another legend says, as the temple is located in the North Eastern part of Gadag and is an adobe of Lord Shiva, it is considered auspicious . After offering a puja, they kickstart their campaign. To be blessed by the deity, it is important that the winning candidate gets a ticket before his rival. BJP leader from Ron Kalakappa Bandi, had darshan of Shiva before his opponents, soon after he got ticket from BJP in 2008 and he won.
In the same constituency in 2013, Congress leader G S Patil visited the temple first, and Kalakappa Bandi lost. In 2014, Shivakumar Udasi contested for MP polls and kickstarted his campaign from here and won. “It is believed that whoever comes first to offer pooja here, wins the elections. Sometimes, the results vary, but the politicians, including local leaders believe the myth and visit the temple.
It’s also said that politicians should not make their visit public,” said Kakalesh Neeralagi, a resident. “When leaders come here, they do not pose for pictures nor do they post pictures on social media. Secrecy is maintained to ensure the rival candidate does not get a hint of the temple visit. Villagers claim politicians have been visiting the temple during elections since many decades,” Neeralagi added.