HYDERABAD: Does the top brass of BJP see a Yogi Adityanath in Swami Paripoornanda? The answer is both yes and no. According to insiders, the pontiff of Kakinada’s Sri Peetham will drive the saffron party’s election campaign in the State, reinforcing Hindutva ideology among the masses. But, will BJP risk fielding Paripoornanda, a non-local, as it’s chief ministerial face? Seems unlikely.
The BJP had claimed that all political parties, except itself, were working to appease a single community. “The Congress, TRS and AIMIM are indulging in competitive appeasement where AIMIM is the conduit,” BJP national general secretary P Muralidhar Rao claimed on Tuesday. In this scheme of things, Paripoornanda seems to be the antidote the party is injecting to beat the so-called “appeasement”.
The controversial pontiff has a style of his own, a mixture of communal speeches and hate remarks. One such speech earned him an externment from Hyderabad, one that ended in him returning to a gala welcome by his supporters. “We have not given him a particular role but his services will be restricted to campaigning in Telangana,” said a party insider.
“Our hunch is that his promotion of soft dharma (read Hindutva) will attract his followers who will help the party win seats,” the insider added, brushing aside rumours of him becoming Yogi Adityanath of Telangana. “He will campaign but won’t contest the polls,” said another BJP official, adding there have so far been no demands from the seer.
This will be an interesting test for BJP -- will Hindutva rise over the Telangana sentiment? This poll might be the answer. Though the top party brass is tight-lipped, there are also reports that Paripoornanda might be fielded in his home turf in AP as the chief ministerial face of the party. Rumours also say that BJP wants “to see him as an MP.”