Pralhad Joshi now banking on Lingayat leaders within party to smoothen seer’s threat to contest against him in Dharwad

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi, who seemed to be comfortably positioned for another easy win in the Lok Sabha elections in Dharwad, has been caught off guard by the sudden outburst of some Veerashaiva Lingayat seers, who initially wanted him replaced. And, in the latest turn, one of them has threatened to jump into the poll fray, while Mr. Joshi, on his part, is leaving no stone unturned to placate the community.

On March 27, scores of Veerashaiva Lingayat seers met at Moorusavir Mutt in Hubballi to deliberate upon socio-political and religious issues and later, in a joint press conference, Sri Fakira Dingaleshwar Swami of Shirahatti Fakkireshwar Mutt sought a change in the BJP candidature. The seer wanted Mr. Joshi replaced with a Veerashaiva Lingayat candidate.

His demand was based on the perception that Mr. Joshi “ill treated the community seers” and caused injustice to the community leaders. The seer even set March 31 as deadline for the party to announce a new candidate.

Meanwhile, the former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who was busy resolving dissidence in Belagavi, rushed to Hubballi to clarify that the party will not change Mr. Joshi’s candidature. He also said that there was some misunderstanding and that it would be cleared, which, however, does not seem to have happened as desired.

Mr. Joshi declined to reply to the charge made against him and instead, said that he will treat the seer’s outburst as blessings.

The next couple of days saw interesting developments taking place with a seer who had distanced himself from the Hubballi meeting of the seers suddenly making an appearance to condemn the action of Sri Dingaleshwar Swami.

Meanwhile, Sri Mallikarjun Swami of Murugha Mutt, Dharwad, who was part of the meeting, declared the day after the Hubballi meeting that he did not agree with Sri Dingaleshwar Swami only to change his stand a day later to say that he concurred with the collective decision of the seers.

Another seer Sri Gurusiddha Rajayogindra Swami of Moorusavir Mutt issued a statement clarifying that the mutt was not opposed to Mr. Joshi. However, to add to Mr. Joshi’s trouble, the district unit of the Akhila Bharat Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha expressed solidarity with Sri Dingaleshwar Swami.

The Murugha Mutt seer’s flip flop led to speculation about BJP leaders pressurising the seer to change his statement in their favour and the sudden appearance of Sri Rudramuni Swami of Tiptur, who was involved in a protracted legal battle pertaining to succession at Moorusavir Mutt, further boosted the speculation, although Mr. Joshi has denied any such efforts.

Already, a social media campaign is under way justifying the need to field a candidate against Mr. Joshi from the Veerashaiva Lingayat community, which forms a big chunk of the electorate in the constituency.

Pressure from devotees

On Tuesday, devotees of Sri Dingaleshwar Swami and people from different sections of society met at Sevalaya in Dharwad and decided to back the candidature of the seer for Dharwad Lok Sabha Constituency.

The development has now confirmed the initial speculation about the possibility of Sri Dingaleshwar Swami himself plunging into the electoral fray. However, the seer has not announced his decision yet.

He told presspersons after Tuesday’s meeting that the BJP has already clarified that Mr. Joshi’s candidature will not be changed but the devotees are pressurising him to contest the elections. And, he will announce his decision in Bengaluru after consulting other religious heads and well-wishers.

Although these developments have caught him off guard, being a seasoned politician, Mr. Joshi is playing it safe as he does not want to invite the wrath of the community when the poll process has already started. And, he is banking on the Lingayat leaders within his party to help him sail through troubled waters.