Sri Fakir Dingaleshwar Swami of Shirahatti Bhaviakya Peetha has said that he will not change his decision to contest as an independent candidate to challenge Union Minister Pralhad Joshi in the Lok Sabha elections.
“I am under extreme pressure not to contest. I am not only getting strong requests but also warnings and even threats from known and unknown people, including some BJP leaders. They all seem to have a vested interest in protecting the prospects of the BJP candidate [Mr. Joshi],” he told reporters in Hubballi on Sunday.
He said that he is not intimidated by vested interests and instead, his resolve is getting stronger and stronger. “I will not change my mind even if I were to lose my life or my dignity. I have told them that there is no backing off now. I am saying that publicly now,” he said.
He said that he will announce the decision and the poll strategy after a meeting of the devotees of the math in Dharwad on Tuesday.
He also said that some BJP leaders are trying to disrupt his movement. “Some BJP leaders have prepared letters of dissent and sent them to some seers who supported me. This is an indication that democracy is fading and the rule of powerful vested interests is rising,” he said.
The seer said that he has decided to fight Mr. Joshi not because of any personal enmity against him or against his party, the BJP.
“We are fighting because we wanted to send a message to Mr. Joshi who has been following a policy of repression. He has discriminated against and pushed down several leaders from the Lingayat and other communities. We appealed to the BJP leadership to change the Dharwad candidate and field some leader other than Mr. Joshi. We had set a deadline of March 31. But the BJP did not listen. If the BJP feels Mr. Joshi is indispensable for it, we want to tell them that peace, prosperity and communal harmony are indispensable to us,” he said.
“I want to tell the people that we are not doing this to gain two minutes of fame. Our fight will not be symbolic. It will be a tough and definitive one to defeat Mr. Joshi. Heads of several maths of Lingayats and other communities are supporting our movement. Some of them may be quiet due to pressure from some forces. As the head of a math that believes in communal harmony, I have to stand with the deprived communities. I will fight to get justice for all,” he said.
