Mangaluru, Oct 31: Sri Rajashekharananda Swami, the chief pontiff of Gurupura’s Vajradehi Mutt, has reportedly shown interest in contesting 2018 Karnataka assembly polls as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate.
If sources are to be believed, the saffron party is seriously considering fielding the ambitious seer from Mulki-Moodbidri or any other constituency in Dakshina Kannada district where hardline Hindutva agenda can attract voters.
Sources privy to the development said that the seer has already held discussions with senior leaders of RSS and BJP in connection with the poll strategies. On the other hand, the seer’s name had reportedly cropped up in a recent internal survey conducted within BJP to identify the winnable candidates for 2018 polls.
Known for his provocative and minority-bashing speeches, the seer has hundreds of thousands of fans and followers in coastal Karnataka. Besides, he enjoys the strong support of RSS veteran Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat.
Local political pundits believe that giving assembly poll ticket to Vajradehi Swami will not only trigger enthusiasm in Hindutva circles, but also will help the saffron party to retain the support of economically, socially and educationally backward Hindus who can easily fall prey to the communal provocation.
The unprecedented success of BJP in last Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, wherein the saffron party had fielded a few hard core Hindutva priests and subsequent elevation of Yogi Adithyanath as chief minister, have prompted the RSS to advise the BJP leaders in Karnataka to emulate the same model in the south Indian state too.
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The only major difference between Vajradehi Swami and Yogi Adithyanath is that the latter at least holds a “bachelor” degree in maths. (Ponder upon the word “bachelor” if you have sufficient time)
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