With the Congress, BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) having announced their candidates for most of the Assembly segments in Mysuru, there is a veritable rush to the temples and mutts by the candidates ahead of the campaign trail.
V. Somanna, who is contesting from both Chamarajanagar and Varuna in Mysuru, had an inkling that he would be fielded by the BJP in these constituencies and not Govindarajanagar in Bengaluru.
Though the BJP list was announced late in the night, Mr. Somanna had made a dash to Chamarajanagar the same morning. He visited Male Mahadeshwaraswamy temple before announcing in the town that he was committed to the development of Chamarajanagar.
On Thursday Mr.Somanna visited Chamundeshwari temple atop the Chamundi Hills in the city and offered prayers while later in the day he followed it up with the customary ‘’courtesy call’’ at Suttur Mutt. He had a brief interaction with Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji and honoured him with a shawl and fruits.
The seer had a busy day since the last 24 hours and he had to grant an audience to Cooperation Minister S.T. Somashekar as well who had dropped in to seek his blessings and is contesting from Yashwanthpur segment in Bengaluru.
This was followed by the visit of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and he was accompanied by aspirants from the segments where the candidate was yet to be announced. Former MLA M.K. Somashekar was in tow as well and he has already launched the campaign in anticipation of the coveted B Form.
No candidate can afford not to visit the Suttur Mutt ahead of the elections as the seer is highly revered with a large following not only among the Lingayats and Veershaiva communities but also from other communities transcending caste and religious barriers.
Given the caste equations and the following that many of the mutts command, the politicians cannot create an impression of slighting them. Hence it is not only during elections but the mutts have a steady stream of visitors during non-election times as well.
There are a few other mutts as well in Mysuru but the candidates can afford to bypass them as their sphere of influence or following is limited to specific segments in the society.
Janata Dal (Secular) candidate from Chamundeshwari G.T. Deve Gowda was a step ahead of others as he got into the campaigning mode much earlier as his candidature was confirmed by the party high command months in advance.
The visitations are not restricted to the prominent temples of the region alone that include Srikanteshwara temple at Nanjangud, Chamrajeshwara temple at Chamarajanagar, and Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangapatna to name a few. The candidates dutifully report to the popular temples in their respective constituencies as well. Among those who can be presumed to skip the customary rituals are the candidates from left-of-centre organisations like Socialist Unity Centre of India.