Baswana Photos To Hang from Office Walls Across Karnataka

Sat, 29 Apr 2017 : With bracelet of prayer beads around wrists and  rudhraksha beads strung around the neck, the portrait of Baswana dressed in white robe. has been released by state govt.  ready to  hang from walls of all its offices from today.

Chief minister Siddharamaiah’s had announced the directive during a rally to thank voters in Gundlupet constituency in Karnataka, where the Congress recently won a byelection defeating  BJP. The southern region comprises a nearly 40 per cent of Lingayat population. BJP despite recent defeat, boasts of firm supporters of saffron including  the party’s state president B S Yeddyurappa.

Congress in Karnataka got into disfavour with  the community in 1990 when Rajiv Gandhi abruptly sacked popular Lingayat chief minister Veerendra Patil. Ever since the party has been working hard to win the community back and  find a mass leader to match Yeddyurappa.

The present move to install pictures of Basavana in government offices is viewed as an effort to make up for the lack of a dominant community leader  in its ranks ahead of the 2018 assembly polls and for being short of  Lingayats in strong positions in the party.