TUMAKURU: SP Muddahanume Gowda, the Congress candidate from the Tumakuru Lok Sabha constituency, was on a spree of diving at the feet of religious heads in and around Tumakuru and also the neighbouring districts of Chitradurga and Davanagere on Wednesday. The religious overture was to counter his BJP opponent V Somanna, who is in good terms with most of the religious heads like former chief minister BS Yediyurappa. Gowda opted for a similar strategy, choosing to meet over a dozen seers, especially from SC/ST and OBC communities.
Regardless of their profile, big or small, he dived at the feet of the saffron-clad religious heads and promptly sought the blessings of Sri Madara Channayya of Madiga community, which has a considerable vote share, Sri Prasannanada Swamiji of Valmiki peetha and also the heads of Banjara, Bhovi, Yadava communities among others.
To start with, Gowda, a Vokkaliga, met the community’s religious head Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swami of Adi Chunchangiri Mutt, besides Veerashiva Lingayat’s Siddaganga Mutt head Sri Siddalinga Swami. Somanna, a Veerashaiva Lingayat, too met both the seers recently. But Gowda went a step ahead to seek the goodwill of other lesser-known religious heads.
The Tumakuru Lok Sabha constituency has a considerable chunk of the electorate from various Dalit and backward classes. The religious heads representing them have the influence of their own and their word has a bearing on the results.
There have been instances of these heads passing messages in favour of ‘suitable’ candidates in the poll fray in the past. Turncoat Gowda, a theist, also had a stint with the saffron party when he joined BJP ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls and returned to Congress with a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls.
Normally, politicians who run for the CM, DCM and ministerial berths, call on the religious heads, but in these polls, the candidates are not leaving anything to chance as the caste too will play a major role.