BENGALURU: While the BJP is aiming to win all 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, one calculation seems to be going seriously wrong -- its equation with the Lingayat community. The statement by Fakeer Dingaleshwara Swamiji that he will contest and defeat Union minister Pralhad Joshi, may not go down well with the BJP.
Dingaleshwara Swami, the pontiff of Shirahatti Fakireshwara Mutt, has called for a meeting of mutt devotees on April 2. He told TNIE over phone that a meeting of swamijis was held to seek their opinion, and now a meeting of bhaktas is being called, and another meeting will be held to take a final decision.
Dingaleshwara Swami has openly said his “aim is to defeat Pralhad Joshi’’, and called for a change in the Dharwad MP candidate. “I am not speaking on my own, I am only being a channel for the voice of the people who have suffered pain at the hands of Pralhad Joshi. His administration has been destructive,’’ he said. Asked if the swamijis would change their stand, he said “there is no question of going back on this’’.
When contacted, Pralhad Joshi refused to comment.
The Dingaleshwara Swami’s call comes in the backdrop of expressions of displeasure by other Lingayat community heads, like the powerful Lingayat Panchamsalis, Lingayat Nolamba community and Lingayat Banija community about the lack of representation, and that senior leader Jagadish Shettar was not treated fairly.
The Veerashaiva Mahasabha, Dharwad unit, has said it would support the swamiji, and All India Veerashaiva Samaja secretary Renuka Prasanna said they would support the call given by the state unit. This could spell trouble for Joshi as there are 6.5 to 7 lakh Lingayats in his constituency.
Political analyst B S Murthy said, “This is the first time in about 30 years that Lingayat swamijis have spoken out against BJP during the elections. Their unhappiness could impact the party in five seats in North Karnataka.”
When BS Yediyurappa was asked to step down in 2021, Dingaleshwara swami had famously said, “Yediyurappa’s tears will wash away the BJP.” “The BJP did not listen to me then and paid the price. Let us see if they will listen to me now. I go around the state and I know the pulse of the people,’’ he added.
Threat calls, claims seer
Dingaleshwara Swamiji said he has received threat calls from Pralhad Joshi’s supporters.
“Many supporters of Union minister Pralhad Joshi called to convince me, and when I refused to listen to them, they threatened me,” he said matter-of-factly.