The Veerashiva-Lingayat controversy on the eve of polls appears to be paying off Siddaramaiah handsomely considering the feedback evinced in a handful of districts which will be going to polls on 12 May. At the same time the state government’s move to recommend to the centre for a separate minority religion status to Lingayats has been successful in dividing the Veerashiva-Lingayat community in a big way like never before.
There have been conflicting views about whether such proposal from the state will help the ruling Congress party in returning to power or damage the prospects of the Bharatiya Janata Party in doing so. Any way as of now the mood of the electorate in the state appears to be tilting towards a hung Assembly which’s being eagerly awaited by the Janata Dal Secular party dreaming of becoming the game changer once again.
Veerashivas are found to be in a big chunk in the old Mysuru regions are up in arms against the state government’s move whereas the Lingayats who outnumber the former in North Karnataka comprising Mumbai Karnataka and Hyderabad Karnataka areas are said to be favoring the Congress.
The community also looks to be divided following the ‘decisive politics’ strategy well orchestrated by the Congress party just before the announcement of general elections to the state Assembly.
The parent body of the Veerashiva Lingayats is named as Akhila Bharat Veerashiva Mahasabe while those agitating for a separate minority religion tag have formed a different organization stripping ties with the Mahasabe.
By and large both the rival groups keep claiming that Veerashivas and Lingayats are nothing but two faces of the same coin. But the ground reality is paradoxical in comparison with the tall claims being made.
Dr Murugha Sharanaru,pontiff of the Murugharajendra Mutt headquartered at Chitradurga having branches across the state asserts: Veerashiva swamijis representing the Pancha Peetas are averse to the formation of Lingayat religion as they are scared that they’ll lose all the benefits as a result thereupon. One’s not supposed to follow the Vedic rituals like puja,homa nor visit temples in search of philosophical solace. Even they will have to give up the inhuman practice of devotees bowing before them nor can visit the disciples’ houses under the pretext of paadpuja forget going in palanquin processions.
However Onkareshwar swamiji, pontiff of Avargol Mutt branch of Balehonnuru Rambapuri peetha at Davanagere contradicts these claims: The proposal for a separate minority religion status is nothing else but a ploy to divide the religion for ulterior purposes. Some pontiffs in order to reap monetary and similar such benefits in kind have grouped themselves under the guise of Basava Dharma. Are they not adhering to the same rituals of allowing the disciples to fall at their feet? Do they not visit the devotees under the pretext of paadpuja and claim that they keep doing so on the requests of the disciples?
He also admits that there could be a polarization of 10 percent of votes towards the ruling party and this proportion keeps changing from 2/3 percent to 50-60 percent depending to whom you keep talking to while some others straight away dismiss any such impact.
But one thing seems to be clear. The Veerashivas who claim to be having the roots of origin since more than 5,000 years are jittery as they see the danger of getting lost in the present tug of war which will eventually end up their hegemony over the community.
According to them: Veerashivas have a distinct identity and Renukacharya is the founder of the Veerashiva religion. Siddantha Shikamani is the religious book which happens to be in Sanskrit. They are not opposed to Lord Basaveshwara nor his preaching’s and it’s only a canard that they are against a separate minority religion status.
This controversy may not fetch the Congress party any significant gains claims Basavaraj, journalist based in Davanagere. At the most there could be a swing of around two percent of votes as it’s the individual candidates who matter more here rather than the political parties.
MT Subashchandra, President, Davanagere District Congress Campaign Committee acknowledges that the Veerashiva-Lingayat agitation has tilted the balance for better. In fact there’s no difference of any sort among the ordinary people but the pontiffs look to be divided for their own reasons.
As per the census report during the regime of Mysuru dynasty Veerashiva also happens to be one among the 99 sub sects of Lingayat religion. People residing in the urban areas call themselves as Veerashivas while those in the rural region only know that they are Lingayats. But the Congress may gain as a result of the Siddaramaiah government’s wise move feels MT Subashchandra.
Dr Murugha Sharanaru admits the fallout due to such situation: The devotees have been advised to cooperate (Sahakarakke Sahakara) with the party which has been responsible for recommending the separate minority religious tag. The reason for such a stance according to those in the forefront of the movement is otherwise it would be like letting down the party which helped in achieving the set goal.
Athani Veeranna, Chartered Accountant and advisor to Shyamanuru Shivashankarappa, President of All India Veerashiva Mahasabe has a counter argument to put forth: Government’s univocal decision of announcing a separate religion tag is condemnable. There’s an attempt during the second term of UPA regime in 2013 for separate minority religion tag to Veerashiva-Lingayats but the effort did not yield results as it’s the fag end of the term and by the time a decision could be made polls were announced.
In fact Sushilkumar Shinde, the then Home Minister had even agreed for considering the memorandum suitably. For record sake the request is kept under obeisance and not rejected as is trying to be made in some quarters says Athani Veeranna.
He also quickly adds: There are more than around 1,000 Veerashiva-Lingayat mutts spread all over the state apart from some being in several other states. So expecting unanimity over the issue would be a difficult proposition. It looks the interests of Veerashiva-Lingayats will be further bulldozed.
But the effect of this movement is bound to have an effect on the polls and whatever could be the outcome the Congress party is awaiting to be blamed. Whether its victory or defeat for the party the reasons will be the move of the party in recommending separate religious status, informs the CA.
Amith Shah, national BJP president may be out rightly rejecting the recommendation for separate minority religion status for political purposes as it’s been done so from a Congress government. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi is more convinced by the preaching’s of Lord Basavanna and there’s no doubt that he’ll definitely accord the minority religion tag says Mahantesh Agadi, bicycles businessman.
He adds further: Amith Shah has declared in his affidavit submitted to the Rajya Sabha that he belongs to the Jain religion but here in Karnataka he claims to be a Vaishnavite Hindu. We’ll definitely support Modi for 2019 but this time it’ll be for Siddaramaiah.
Prof Shivarudra Kallolkar of History Department at Karnatak University Dharwad has an interesting point to make: Thanks to the Veerashiva-Lingayat controversy it may not be a big surprise if 30 percent of people belonging to these communities may cast their votes in favor of Congress. Even assuming that the voting pattern may not be in this proportion however it cannot be ruled out that the Congress will be the beneficiary by winning in 5-6 seats.
At the same time he is candid enough to admit: The maximum number of schemes has been given by the Siddaramaiah government. Let there be no doubt on that. But the Congress party may eventually end up losing in 20 seats due to the arrogant attitude of the chief minister!
Prof Ashok Shettar of the same department asserts: This movement will not boomerang the Congress party as projected in a few pre poll survey reports. On the other hand it’s the Congress party which’s set to gain and the drift in such polarization may be to the extent of 50-60 percent.
There’s a divide in the community for good of the society as it’s in tune with what Basavanna stood for a casteless and classless system. In that way Basava Dharma is unique in its distinct identity says Prof Shivananda Shettar, Head of Gandhian Studies Department, Karnatak University at Dharwad.
However he feels: The move to accord separate minority status is a welcome step though it might have political considerations. But the so far held notion that BS Yeddyurappa is the undisputed mass leader of Lingayats may not work this time.

Hindusthan Samachar/Manohar Yadavatti

Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesperson, Sri Sambit Patra has said
that his party is all set to wrest Karnataka from Congress.
Addressing a media conference here today Dr Patra said – “Political picture is crystal clear in
Karnataka. There has been anti-incumbency wave and groundswell in favour of BJP. The State BJP
president, Sri. B. S. Yeddyurappa will become Chief Minister on May 15.”
He ridiculed Chief Minister, Sri. Siddaramaiah for trying to find a safe seat other than his home
constituency. The Congress leader had told that he was contesting from Badami as per the decision of
party High Command, which contradicted his statement in Delhi.
He said – “The fact is that he is not confident. Running the government for five years, he is not
sure of his victory in Varuna constituency because he did not perform. He shifted to Chamundeshwari.
There too, he is not sure of victory. Then, he decides to contest from Badami. However, after May 15, the
day of result, Sri. Siddaramaiah will become Benami.”
He said neither Congress nor Janata Dal leaders were confident. They were hesitant to contest.
For instance – senior Congress leader, Sri. Ambarish, declined to contest even though he was nominated
by the party. According to his open admission, the KPCC Working President Sri. Gundurao told him that he
would not win. Ultimately, he shied away from contesting. Minister for Planning, Sri. M. R. Sitaram,
though nominated, declined to contest. KPCC President, G. Parameshwara also wanted to contest from
second constituency as he was not sure of his victory in his home constituency. JD (S) leader Sri H. D.
Kumaraswamy had been contesting from two constituencies. Because, none of them were confident. But
BJP chief ministerial candidate Sri. Yeddyurappa was confident he said and added that “Only those will be
victorious who are confident.”

Referring to former Union Minister, Sri. Salman Khurshid’s statement that the hands of Congress
were stained with blood, Dr. Patra said the Congress leader should also remember his party was
responsible for genocide of Sikhs in Delhi.
Dr. Patra said his party was not bothered about the upcoming visit of AICC President, Sri. Rahul
Gandhi to Karnataka. The Congressmen themselves were not keen about his visit as they would think that
his visit would have negative impact on party prospects.
The State BJP General Secretary Kum. Shobha Karandlaje and party spokesperson, Sri.
Ashwathnarayana were present.

The 23rd meeting of the Western Zonal Council comprising of the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Union Territories of Daman ‘n Diu and Dadra ‘n Nagar Haveli is scheduled to be held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat on Thursday (April 26). The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will chair the meeting.

The Chief Minister of Gujarat is the Vice Chairman and host. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, will also participate in the deliberations. Chief Ministers of other member States in the zone along with some Ministers, Chief Secretaries and senior officers from the State Governments and also senior officers from the Central Government are expected to attend the meeting.

Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw

Expressing confidence of winning the upcoming state elections, BJP national spokesperson Sudesh Verma said that Karnataka has been handed over an excellent opportunity to be a part of the big movement led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing media here on Wednesday, April 25, he said, “We are confident of gaining the upper hand with decisive majority in the upcoming elections. Karnataka now has the opportunity to vote BJP to power to be under the leadership of PM Modi. We are lucky to have Modi has our prime minister who has a broad vision of ‘Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas’ in which we are gaining support across the country.
“The public will exercise their franchise in the interest of the state and the country on May 12. We are confident of winning with a high majority. It will be a landslide victory like how the BJP fared in Tripura and other states. PM Modi has taken up the initiative of driving the country towards development. Schemes like ‘Krishi Sinchayi Yojana’ and ‘Fasal Bheema Yojana’ have benefitted agriculturists. ‘Mudra Yojana’, health cards to beneficiaries, job creation in private sectors, entrepreneurship development, skill development and other facilities provided by the government to has led to a happy and contended public.

“Coastal Karnataka has become famous for wrong reasons. Dozens of Hindus, RSS and BJP activists have been killed, but the district administration does not seem to be bothered. The present government is busy appeasing the minorities which is not good. The government belongs to all, not just one community. There has been cattle theft as well. Once our government comes to power, all these issues will be taken up,” he said.

State BJP spokesperson Anwar Mannipady said, “The state government has not utilized the funds meant for development of minorities. The BJP will request for votes by playing the religion card. Congress has always taken advantage of communal violence incidents. BJP has never neglected the minorities and treated everyone equally.”

Leader Monappa Bhandary and Yogesh Bhat, BJP spokesperson Sulochana Bhat and others were present.

A total of 2,407 applicants have documented nominations for the May 12 Karnataka assembly elections, with an astounding 1,280 of them recording it on Tuesday, the last date to enter the shred.

As in excess of 224 competitors have documented from the Congress and BJP, their representatives revealed that the extra 20 from the Congress and 34 from the BJP would have recorded without the compulsory B-Form from their particular parties and were probably going to be dismissed after scrutiny on Wednesday or on the off chance that they pullout by the last date of withdrawal on April 27.

As indicated by the Election Commission’s site, of the aggregate chosen people, 244 are from the Congress, 258 from the Bharatiya Janata Party, 208 from the Janata Dal-Secular, 1,084 are Independents and 613 from regional parties and fringe outfits.

Nominations started on April 1. Congress representative B.K. Chandrashekar said “Some of our party members would have documented nominations without the B form as rebels or will challenge as Independents if they are rejected as official candidates during the scrutiny by the EC,”

BJP state representative S. Shantharam included that the party had given out just 224 compulsory B-Forms, one each to the assigned applicant from each constituency.

The Congress fielded 15 women, the BJP 16 and the JD(S) 12. Also, 56 ladies have filed their nominations as Independents from different constituencies across the state.

Among the individuals who documented nominations on the last date are Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and BJP’s Lok Sabha member B. Sreeramulu from Badami in Bagalkot.

Siddaramaiah has likewise recorded nomination on April 20 from Chamundeshwari in Mysuru and Sreeramulu from Molakramuru from Chitradurga area.

P. Ravikumar Ganiga of the Congress recorded nominations from Mandya after the party’s sitting MLA and rebel star Ambareesh declined to challenge however the party gave him the B-Form and endeavored to persuade him to compete.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah is expected to face his toughest political challenge yet as the BJP is likely to field B Sreeramulu against him in Badami constituency in Bagalkot district of north Karnataka.

The BJP’s move to field Sreeramulu started doing the rounds within hours of the Congress announcing Siddaramaiah as its candidate from Badami, in place of Dr Devraj Patil, on Sunday.
Siddaramaiah, who has filed his nomination from Chamundeshwari in Mysuru district, will file papers in Badami on Tuesday. The CM was believed to have chosen Badami in the face of a stiff challenge from JD(S) candidate GT Devegowda in Chamundeshwari.

So called corrupt free Modiji has allowed BJP to filed sriramulu shows its commitment to corruption, under yeddiyurappa, reddy brothers and srirmulu , karnataka lost all its mineral wealth..
worst people

A senior BJP functionary said party leaders have held two rounds of talks with Sreeramulu to prepare him for the fight and asked him to be ready to file his nomination papers on Tuesday. Sreeramulu has filed nomination from Molakalmaru segment in Chitradurga district.
Siddaramaiah is banking on the strong presence of Kuruba community in Badami. If Sreeramulu’s candidature becomes a reality, then the BJP will try to woo Lingayats and Valmiki Nayaka community members.

Chamundeshwari and Shikharipura are located at a distance of 304.2 kilometres. Both are high profile constituencies considering the battles here are being fought by Siddaramaiah and B S Yeddyurappa, the chief ministerial candidates of the Congress and BJP respectively.

There is a stark difference in the campaigns of Siddaramaiah who is looking to retain power and B S Yeddyurappa who is waiting to seize it. While Siddaramaiah is being made to sweat it out at Chamundeshwari, for Yeddyurappa it appears to be a walk over at Shikharipura.

Siddaramaiah is up against the formidable G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S) who is a friend turned foe. The Congress which is hoping to win the election on the Siddaramaiah factor did sense trouble in the CM’s bastion following which it decided to hand him another ticket from Badami.

Siddaramaiah’s troubles do not just begin and end with G T Deve Gowda. His former friends, V Srinivas Prasad and H Vishwanath are also campaigning against him making the fight even tougher. While Prasad has joined the BJP, Vishwanath is now with the JD(S). In all previous poll, these leaders stood together and were able to ensure that Siddaramaiah conquered Chamundeshwari 5 out of the 7 times that he contested.
Yeddyurappa, on the other hand, has an easy outing at Shikharipur. In 2013 when he had formed the KJP he had several foes, but he managed to win the polls. For instance, Mahalingappa who had beaten Yeddyurappa in 1999 is now his poll manager. Further, K Shekarappa who has challenged Yeddyurappa in three elections is now campaigning for him. Looking at the Congress candidate from Shikharipura, it is clear that Yeddyurappa will have a cake walk from this constituency. A confident Yeddyurappa had even said that he will win by a good 30,000 votes even if he does not campaign. Karnataka elections: Yogi Adityanath to address 35 rallies from May 3 Congress replaces Ambareesh with Ganiga Ravikumar in Mandya Karnataka Elections 2018:
BJP releases 5th list of 8 candidates Featured Posts The selection of the Congress candidate had taken a lot within the party by surprise. The Congress picked G B Malatesh, a block Congress president and municipality member. While this has made the battle easier for Yeddyurappa, analysts say that this is not the only factor that would ensure a win for the BJP leader. Yeddyurappa has over the years nurtured the constituency. The roads in the constituency are an example of this. Back in 2008 during a campaign trail, we were welcomed to one lane road. No two vehicles could pass by each other unless one went off the road. During our next visit to the constituency in 2009, the entire scenario had changed. It was the 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign and by then Yeddyurappa had become Chief Minister of Karnataka. The roads were wide and the constituency had a brand new feel to it.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala launched a scathing attack against Narendra Modi government on Tuesday for fielding mining baron Reddy brothers and their associates in the Karnataka assembly elections.
In a press conference held at KPCC office in Bengaluru, Surjewala alleged “Modi Govt has now become the ‘benefactor, protector, defender’ of the ‘Bellary Gang’ responsible for denuding Kannadigas of their rich natural resources through a ‘Puppet CBI'”.
“Why is Modi Government protecting scamsters involved in Rs 35,000 Cr ‘Illegal Iron-Ore Mining Scam’ by shutting down CBI cases, one after the other, despite the scathing Lokayukta Report based on comprehensive evidence, both documentary & pictorial?”, Surjewala asked. He further said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and BJP President, Shri Amit Shah have gone out of the way to given 8 BJP tickets to Reddy Brothers and Associates in the Karnataka elections. He sought explanation from PM Modi and party chief Amit Shah for giving tickets to 8 people allegedly responslibe for ‘Loot of Public Money’ & ‘Plundering of Natural Resources’

During election time, politicians, especially candidates do not miss any opportunity of attending weddings, birthday parties or any other events as it provides them a chance to connect with the voters. However, not this time around. With the Election Commission going on a overdrive to foil any bid to bribe voters, the organisers are refraining from inviting politicians to weddings and other gatherings as they think it would be akin to inviting trouble from the election officials.

Sources said the EC is keeping a close watch on weddings and other ceremonies in which politicians are also guests. The premises of few events attended by politicians were also checked for freebies and excess liquor. This news spread via word of mouth across Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, following which many organisers are hesitating to invite politicians to their functions.

A family in Palimaru village in Udupi district had to take a tough decision of not reminding a senior politician who is close to the family about the wedding of their family member held during last weekend. “He (the politician) had asked me to remind him about the wedding a day in advance when I invited him a month ago. But we were forced not to call him as we did not want to attract the wrath of election officials. Their (EC officials) entry will spoil the party,” said an organiser who did not want to be named.

Liquor consumption is common during Roce, a ritual held normally on the previous night of Catholic weddings in the region. But due to fear of EC raids, some families are forced to do away with liquor during such ceremony. The organisers of Palimaru Wedding said though they tried to get CL-5 licence which is required to stock more liquor for such functions, obtaining it was not easy. “After two unsuccessful visits to Excise Office for the license, we decided not to serve liquor. This left most of our guest disappointed,” he added.

Echoing similar feelings, Ivan D’Souza said one needs to visit three places to get CL-5 license and there is no single-window agency to get it without any fuss. However, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil said they have no intention of bothering private events but have to act if they get specific complaints. He maintained that liquor raids on wedding parties have nothing to do with election MCC and the Excise department is just enforcing the law.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be visiting the state during the first week of May this year to undertake active election canvas for the Congress party. Party sources said that she will take part in road show and public meeting in the city and other places in the coast during her visit.

At the same time, campaigning by Congress supremo, Sonia Gandhi, has been ruled out as she was sick and had been discharged from hospital recently. She has been advised rest. However, Dakshina Kannada district Congress president, Harish Kumar, said he has no information about Priyanka’s proposed programme in the district.

Congress has planned to utilize the services of Priyanka to boost chances of the party and its veteran leaders in Karnataka, several of whom are pitted against strong opponents, and also in view of changing scenario here and because some of the leaders including the chief minister are fighting to retain their seats. During this visit, Priyanka is expected to tour Karnataka coast, it is said, in an effort to retain one of the important bastions of the party.

Rahul Gandhi will be coming to district to seek votes for minister, B Ramanath Rai, in Bantwal constituency. It is said that the party decided on sending Rahul there as BJP has taken the issue of wresting this seat from the minster as a question of prestige.

Sources say that the party thought of using the services of Priyanka in the state, as chief minister, Siddaramaiah, and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, Dr G Parameshwar, will have to utilize a big chunk of their time for their own constituencies as the fight is tough there, and also on account of the need for Mallikarjun Kharge to devote time for ensuring victory of his son, Priyank Kharge. The chief minister is also required to help his son, Dr Yathindra, to become victorious from neighbouring Varuna constituency.