The Bharatiya Janata Party, ahead of the Assembly elections on May 5, seems to be seeking the blessings of goddesses. Two “Vijaya Sankalpa Yatra” programmes held in Koppa in Chikmagalur district and at Mysore on Friday began with invocations to Sringeri Sharadamba and Chamundeshwari, respectively.
The presence of the goddess Sringeri Sharadamba was all pervasive at the function in Koppa. Sringeri MLA and Food and Civil Supplies minister D.N. Jeevaraj, who had organised the programme, had made arrangements for special prayers for Sharadamba at the convention venue itself.
A portrait of the goddess was placed in a specially designed wooden structure. Party leaders, including party’s national general secretary Ananth Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa and the former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda offered prayers to the goddess at the beginning of the programme.
Interestingly, prior to the programme, Mr. Jeevaraj welcomed Ananth Kumar, Eshwarappa and Sadananda Gowda to the town at the helipad by offering them prasad from Sharada Peetha of Sringeri. The leaders reached Koppa from Mysore, where they attended the launch of Vijaya Sankalpa rally earlier in the day.
“While Mysore is place of Chamundeshwari, Sringer is home for Sharadambe. We have blessings of the both,” he said.
Higher Education Minister C.T. Ravi also appealed to women voters to support the BJP by referring to them as powerful women in the holy place of Sharadambe.
Earlier at Mysore, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar began his campaign by offering worship to Chamundeshwari. Later, addressing a rally at the Maharaja College grounds, he said that his party will go to the people with a “five-year progress card on development.”
He said that the Opposition parties and some who broke away from the BJP did try to topple the BJP government led by him but did not succeed. Mr. Shettar exuded confidence saying the BJP would win more seats than the 110 won by it in the previous elections.
Newly appointed president of the State BJP Pralhad Joshi who compared the State Congress to a “rudderless boat”, dismissed the KJP as a non-entity. Voting for the KJP, he said, would only help the Congress.
