BANGALORE: Politics and religion in Karnataka enjoy an incestuous relationship. Politicians offer pontiffs largesse from public funds to create and restore temples, fund educational institutions while mutts control huge chunks of caste votes. Both BJP and JD (S) draw much of their electoral strength from mutts. It’s dependant on Lingayat mutts. The JD (S) has close ties with the Vokkaliga mutts.
B S Yeddyurappa opened government pockets to Lingayat mutts, who projected him as the Lingayat numero uno. D V Sadananda Gowda, the current chief Karnataka minister is assiduously wooing the Lingayat mutts. Yeddy had been generous: even a small mutt like Kalmath in remote Kodlipet Hobli received huge grants. Officially, Yeddyurappa had granted `20 crore for Lingayat mutts in 2011. Lingayat seers support Yeddy in the absence of another influential Lingayat leader in the Congress or the JD (S). When Yeddy was sent to jail, the Pejawar mutt seer Vishvesha Theertha Swamiji defended religious leaders visiting Yeddyurappa saying the former CM was only an accused and not a convict. The 104-year old Siddaganga Seer Shivakumara Swami travelled to Bangalore to call on Yeddyurappa who was in judicial custody.
But mutt masters are unreliable alies. When a new CM was being chosen after Yeddy quit, Shivayogi Rajayogendra Swamiji of Moorusavira Mutt in Hubli threw his weight behind one of the contenders, Jagdish Shettar. Later Sivakumara Swami refused to support Yeddyurappa: political sources say it was because Sadananda Gowda opened backdoor channels with the mutt. At Sivagiri Mutt, Sadananda Gowda promised land for the Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust in Bangalore. He also stated he had earmarked funds in the budger for the pilgrim centres.
Yeddyurappa supporters say Siddaganga Mutt’s silence may have left him at the crossroads of his political career since it controls over 15 per cent of the 17 per cent Lingayat voteshare in Karnataka. Political preference of mutts change depending on the politicians. The powerful Adichunchanagiri mutt, of the Vokkaligas is an example. Differences between Deve Gowda and Dr Balagangadharanatha Swamiji of Adichunchanagiri drove the swami towards the BJP. Deve Gowda supported a parallel Vokkaliga mutt, Vishwa Vokkaligara Samsthana, with Chandrashekara Swamiji as its seer.
The pro-Yeddy pontiffs are Dr Shivamurthy Shivacharya Swamiji, Sri Taralabalu Mutt; Sri Thontadarya Mutt; Sri Moorusavira Mutt, Thontada Gurusiddalingeshwara Swamiji who is divided between Yeddyurappa, Jagadish Shettar and Basavaraj Bommai.
Strangely, Sri Adichunchanagiri Mutt led by Dr Balagangadharanatha Swamiji, a Vokkaliga is pro-Yeddyurappa because of his antipathy towards H D Deve Gowda. Sri Nirmalananda Swamiji of Sri Kanaka Guru Peetha Mutt has a spectrum of loyalties being pro-Yeddyurappa, pro-BJP state president K S Eshwarappa and pro-Siddaramaiah. Sri Pejawar Mutt’s Sri Vishwesha Tirtha Swamiji is a Brahmin with close ties to the Sangh parivar and was the member of the steering committee on Ayodhya.
Do these mutts command the clout of its followers so as to influence the course of politics? Over the decades, seers have declared their support only after parties have announced chief ministerial candidates. Mutt heads also influence local politics. The seer of Sirigere mutt, Dr Shivamurthy Shivacharya Swamiji called upon people to vote for the candidate who promises to remove liquor shops in villages.
Having realised the clout of Lingayat and Vokkaliga mutts, seers belonging to the SC/STs and backward classes have also started asserting themselves, demanding sanction of educational institutions, providing reservation and also asking parties to give tickets to a particular candidate.
There are around 400 to 500 mutts—big and small—dotting the landscape of Karnataka. Lingayat mutts are the majority. Exclusive mutts of Panchamsali or Nonaba or Saadar (Lingayat subgroups) address domestic and social needs while the bigger mutts such as Siddaganga (Kyathsandra near Tumkur), Sirigere and Murugurajendra (Chitradurga), Rambhapuri (Balehonnur), Moorusavira Mutt (Hubli), Suttur (Mysore) —all Lingayats— control state level politics. Vokkaligas mutts are Adichunchangiri and Vishwa Vokkaligara Maha Samsthana.
The largest number of educational institutions belong to the Lingayat community. Brahmin mutts—Smartha (Adi Shankaracharya), Madhwa (Madhwacharya) and Sri Vaishnava (Ramanujacharya), have little role in politics since Brahmins constitute only three percent of the state population. Issue based support from Brahmin mutts have been forthcoming for the BJP: Sri Ramachandrapura Mutt in Shimoga district headed by Sri Raghaveshwara Swamiji is with the Sangh parivar on the issue of banning cow slaughter. Sri Swarnavalli Mutt led by Sri Gangadharendra Saraswathi is with the BJP on environment issues.
No matter who is chief minister, it has become mandatory for them to visit all mutts, starting from Siddaganga. Going by the frequency and intensity with which mutt leaders and politicians interact almost on a daily basis, from construction of temples to the government postings, the seers could are often called politicians in saffron.