Fighting against Joshi's divisive tactics, oppression of Veerashaiva-Lingayats: Dingaleshwar Swami
Hubballi: Fakira Dingaleshwara Swami, the pontiff of the Shirahatti Mutt, who recently withdrew his nomination as an Independent candidate from the Dharwad constituency, has renewed his criticism of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, accusing him of employing divisive tactics and oppressing the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.
Addressing reporters in Hubballi on Saturday, the pontiff asserted his intention to challenge the BJP candidate, Joshi, whom he accuses of hindering the progress of Lingayats and Veerashaivas. Dingaleshwara Swami alleged that Joshi had thwarted the development of Dharwad despite representing the constituency for two decades. He questioned Joshi's track record in facilitating Central government appointments for locals and in allocating funds for Dharwad's development.
Accusing Joshi of pursuing a policy of divide-and-rule, Dingaleshwara Swami claimed that the BJP candidate regularly met with senior pontiffs to exert pressure on him. The pontiff warned Joshi against attempting to divide the mentor-disciple relationship between himself and the Shirahatti Mutt's senior pontiff, suggesting that such actions could lead to Joshi's marital separation. He also claimed to possess video evidence of Joshi's meetings with various pontiffs during the election period.
Critiquing Joshi's focus on the recent tragic incident involving Neha Hiremath in Hubballi, Dingaleshwara Swami accused him of exploiting the situation for political gain. The pontiff emphasized Joshi's alleged neglect of the backward classes and Lingayats throughout his tenure as MP.
Dingaleshwara Swami affirmed his desire for Joshi's defeat, citing significant cultural and social changes in Dharwad since Joshi assumed office. He also highlighted the alleged absence of government grants to mutts in the Dharwad constituency over the past 15 years.
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Decision on next Maharashtra CM to be taken 'in a day or two', says Shinde
New Delhi (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said he had "good and positive" discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda on the issue of government formation in the state.
Speaking to reporters here before leaving for Mumbai, Shinde said the decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be taken "in a day or two" in another meeting of the Mahayuti coalition in the state capital.
Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, met Shah and Nadda late Thursday to thrash out a power-sharing pact for the next government in Maharashtra after the BJP-led coalition registered a thumping majority in the Assembly elections.
"We will take a decision (on Maharashtra CM) in a day or two. We have held discussions, and the discussions will continue. You will get to know when we take a final decision," the outgoing chief minister said.
Shinde said that he would not be an obstacle in the government formation in the state and abide by the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah.
"This 'ladka bhau' (beloved brother) designation is higher than anything else for me," he said.
Shinde said the meeting with Shah and Nadda was "good and positive".
"We all discussed the formation of government. There is good coordination between the allies, we are all very positive and we will honour the clear-cut mandate given to us by the people. We will form the government soon," he said.
"The meeting was good and positive. This was the first meeting. There will be another meeting of the Mahayuti in Mumbai," Shinde told reporters early Friday.
The Shiv Sena leader said the people of Maharashtra have re-elected them with a thumping majority and respecting the mandate is the topmost priority, not "running after posts".
Recovering from its Lok Sabha elections losses, the BJP bagged 132 Assembly seats, the highest among all constituents of the Mahayuti alliance. Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP also performed well. Sena won 57 while NCP bagged 41 seats.
The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a setback with the grand old party registering one of its worst performances in the Assembly polls as it won only 16 seats. Sharad Pawar's NCP(SP) won just 10 seats, whereas Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT) won 20 seats.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections were held on November 20, and the results were declared on November 23.
