Amit Shah visits Lingayat seer Sri Shivakumara Swami

Shah also prayed for his long life and lauded his efforts to bring all sections of society together through education.

“Standing in front of Sri Sri Sri Shivakumara ji feels like standing in front of God. He has succeeded in bringing all sections of society together through education. I pray for his long life,” he tweeted.

Besides visiting mutts associated with Lingayat and Dalit communities, Shah will address farmers’ and traders’ meetings and party events during his tour, that will also witness road shows. The Congress government’s decision on the religious minority tag to Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats, political observers have said, is aimed at denting the vote bank to the BJP, which has declared Lingayat strongman B S Yeddyurappa its chief ministerial candidate.

Tomorrow, Shah will visit Madara Chennaiah mutt, which has been traditionally associated with Dalits. He will also visit the Bekkinkal, Sirgere and Muruga mutts, among others, during his visit to the state’s central region. The BJP is making an all-out effort to unseat the Congress from the only big state where the grand old party is in power. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has also been frequenting the state and visited holy places linked to different religions and castes in the four rounds of tour undertaken by him so far.