Vokkaliga pontiff passes awayThe seer’s last rites were carried out by his successor Nischalanandanatha Swami. 
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Kumara Chandrashekharanatha Swami
Bengaluru: Pontiff Kumara Chandrashekharanatha Swami, who headed the Vishwa Vokkaligara Mahasamsthana mutt that was backed by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, died late on Friday night.
His last rites were conducted on Saturday afternoon, attended by Gowda, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and others.
The seer’s last rites were carried out by his successor Nischalanandanatha Swami.
Last year, the late pontiff had publicly asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to resign and make way for Shivakumar, a fellow Vokkaliga. Also last year, the pontiff had to face a police case after he called for disenfranchising Muslims to end votebank politics in India.
He later publicly expressed regret for it.