Karnataka: When it comes to Karnataka politics, no party has been left behind by caste calculations. Votes of Lingayat community in Karnataka are crucial in the victory of parties and candidates.
It is being analyzed that senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the Muruga Math here yesterday, Wednesday, with the intention of gaining the trust of the Lingayat community, which has been supporting the BJP for many years.
During his visit to the Math yesterday, Abbot Shivamurthy Muruga Sharan gave ‘Linga Deeksha’ to Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi, who was on his way to attend the 75th birthday celebrations of former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah in Davangere, arrived at the Math and spent about 45 minutes.
The visit is important as a run-up to the 2023 assembly elections, where the Congress is trying to garner the support of the Lingayat community, which has been alienated from the Congress since then-Prime Minister and Rahul’s father Rajiv Gandhi suspended Lingayat leader Virendra Patil from the post of chief minister in 1990.
While the BJP also appears to be antagonizing the community by ditching Lingayat strongman BS Yeddyurappa and fielding another Lingayat, Basavaraja Bommai, the opposition is trying to win over the numerically and politically powerful Lingayats.
After the initiation Shivamurthy Muruga Sharan said to Rahul that you are now a devotee of Basava. Rahul was gifted a book on Sharans called ‘The Social Reformer’
