PM Modi visit to Adichunchanagiri Mutt in Karnataka's Mandya could boost BJP’s Vokkaliga outreach

Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Sri Guru Bhairavaikya Mandir’ - the resting place of Sri Balagangadharanatha Swami, 71st pontiff Sri Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt in Mandya, on Wednesday.

The event hinted at BJP’s growing proximity to the powerful Vokkaliga Mutt, a key factor in the party’s renewed push to breach its last major electoral bastion — the Old Mysuru region dominated by the Vokkaliga community.

The mutt with a 1800-year-old unbroken spiritual lineage, shares its “Nath Pantha” – a Shaivite sub-tradition with Gorakhnath Mutt in Uttar Pradesh (where UP CM Yogi Adityanath was the head priest).

Modi acknowledging the mutt as a civilisational anchor paid tribute to the late pontiff and his model of leadership rooted in seva - education, healthcare, and compassion.

He also invoked the local symbols of pride - Maa Cauvery (river) to push for water conservation, gave call to the agrarian community to shift to chemical free natural farming and to adopt a healthy lifetsyle and millet-based foods to combat obesity, also citing how Deve Gowda, the tallest Vokkaliga leader popularised ’ragi mudde’.

Amid a cheering crowd, Modi referred to Mandya as “Sakkare Nagara Madhura Mandya”, celebrating the region’s prosperity and the “sweetness, hospitality and warmth” of its people.

The PM attending the event amid his busy schedule of campaigning in poll-bound West Bengal and Tamil Nadu and the upcoming special session of the Parliament on women’s reservation bill, signals political recognition of the mutt’s influence in the region.

The Old Mysuru belt, with 59 Assembly seats, is traditionally the stronghold of the Janata Dal (Secular) led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and Union minister H D Kumaraswamy. The BJP–JD(S) alliance would be a force multiplier in the 2028 Assembly polls helping the BJP overcome its persistent seat shortfall to attain majority.

The current pontiff Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji, alumnus of IIT Chennai, was a special invitee for ‘Bhoomi puja’ of Ram temple at Ayodhya (2020) and consecration of Ram temple in 2024. The soil and water from the Kalabhairaveshwara temple in Mandya were sent to Ayodhya for Bhoomi puja too.

Recently, the mutt hosted ‘Sant Samagam’ organised by VHP and attended by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. This time, the pontiff recalled Modi inaugurating the 108-ft-tall statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda at the Bengaluru airport in 2022.

The BJP’s outreach combines religious symbolism with caste identity politics. However, the mutt has maintained neutrality. In 2023, the seer backed KPCC chief D K Shivakumar for chief minister’s post, responding to community sentiment. Also, he chastised BJP leaders for planning a movie on Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, who, BJP claimed, had killed Tipu Sultan, dismissing it as “unverified historical claim” that could hurt the community.