With the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss the State Cabinet decision on according ‘religious minority’ tag for Lingayat and Veerashaiva–Lingayat, pressure seems to be mounting on the head of the mahasabha and senior Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa to take a strong political decision to “safeguard the interests of the community”.
Mr. Shivashankarappa, who had earlier welcomed the Cabinet decision on according minority tag for the community, later reversed his decision and called it the “height of injustice”. This has become tricky for the Congress.
Sources said the Pancha Peetha seers (of the Veerashaiva sect), opposed to the Cabinet decision, have been putting pressure on Mr. Shivashankarappa to take a political decision in the interests of the community. Since opposing the Cabinet decision and continuing to be in the party will neither be a viable option nor will it help the community’s cause, seers are said to have appealed to the Congress veteran to take a strong political decision at the mahasabha meeting to be held in Bengaluru.
A couple of days ago, Veerasomeshwara Swami, seer of Rambhapuri Peetha (a major Veerashaiva Peetha among the Pancha Peethas) had warned the government of launching a “holy war against those trying to divide the community”.
Meets Yeddyurappa
Mr. Shivashankarappa, sources said, called on BJP State president and Lingayat strongman B.S. Yeddyurappa at the latter’s residence here on Wednesday and discussed the issue.
This is even as Congress leaders have decided to impress upon Mr. Shivashankarappa to stay in the party ahead of the Assembly elections.
Mr. Shivashankarappa has ruled out quitting the Congress and joining the BJP. “I and my son S.S. Mallikarjun (Minister) are in the Congress,” he said on Tuesday, refusing to speak any further on the issue.
As of now, a Congress leader said “there are no major cracks within the Congress”. However, some of the Congress leaders, including Mr. Shivashankarappa and Minister Eshwar B. Khandre, are expected to decide the next course of action depending on the decision to be taken at the mahasabha meeting.
A Congress functionary observed that there was no clarity yet on the electoral benefits of the Congress government’s move. “The divisions among the seers belonging to Lingayat and Veerashaiva–Lingayat sects makes it difficult to predict the electoral advantages for the governing Congress,” he said.
