Congress seems to have taken a leaf out of BJP's book in Karnataka

The Congress seems to have taken a leaf out of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) book in Karnataka. When BJP state President B S Yeddyurappa was chief minister, he courted various Lingayat pontiffs to mould opinion against allegations of corruption during his regime. Lingayats are strong in north Karnataka and Yeddyurappa has projected himself as their leader. It is now the turn of D K Shivakumar, Congress’ energy minister in the eye of a storm after income tax raids last week. On Tuesday, pontiffs of four mutts of the Vokkaliga community, including the powerful Adichunchanagiri Mutt, visited Shivakumar in a show of solidarity. Shivakumar belongs to the community, which is strong in south Karnataka. As Assembly elections are a year from now, the pontiffs’ support to Shivakumar is also seen as a message to the community to vote for him.