Deve Gowda turns against former mentor

India's former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda is always known to have committed and intense followers and equally passionate critics. But, last week saw more of criticism than affection for a leader who has consistently fought to remain a factional leader.

The reason for so much criticism, coming as it does when politics is a dull subject less than two years before elections, is that Deve Gowda has gone and done what many believe to be the unthinkable, backed a religious math (body, pronounced 'mutt') of the Vokkaligas, the major upper caste group, on political lines.

The former Prime Minister, who leads the Janata Dal (Secular), has criticised his former mentor, the head of the Adichunchunagiri Math, Balagangadhara Swamiji, for trying to "destroy him." Not just that. He also accused the Swamiji of favouring the Congress party and Karnataka Chief Minister, S. M. Krishna.

Deve Gowda's full fledged attack on the Swamiji came at the anniversary celebrations of the ashram of Kumara Chandrashekhar Swamiji, near Kengeri on the outskirts of Bangalore and its launch as the alternative math for the Vokkaliga community.

Unlike the other major caste group of Lingayats, which have several major "maths", the Vokkaligas have just one religious body headed by Balagangadhara Swamiji.

"It is very simple. The fact is religious bodies do play a role in electoral politics. Clearly, Deve Gowda is upset that Balagangadhara Swami is not playing ball with him as he used to earlier. So, Deve Gowda's angst against him," says a senior politician who did not want to be identified.

Politicians from the community privately say that Balagangadhara Swamiji has come in for some amount of criticism within the community for not being able to distribute patronage in distribution of seats in professional courses.

The Math runs over 500 schools and colleges mainly in the southern districts of Karnataka, where the Vokkaligas are the dominant class.

But, politicians agree that the lack of "patronage" to Deve Gowda by the Swamiji could not be the only reason for the former Prime Minister to publicly criticise the latter and promote an alternative Math.

"There is obviously something more than what meets the eye. But, the fact remains that there are a lot of Janata Dal (Secular) partymen who have a great amount of respect for Balagangadhar Swamiji. He (the Swamiji) took over when the Math was worth just a few hundred rupees. Today, it should be worth over Rs12,000 crore," says one politician.

"Honestly, it is very disgusting to see an alternative Math being propped up because one has not received patronage from the Swamiji in the recent past. As long as the Swamiji was backing him, Balagangadhara Swamiji was the pontiff. Math's cannot be treated like political parties," says a senior politician who preferred anonymity.

It may be disgusting to one senior politician, but there are others who look at it differently. "Elections are 16-17 months away. This is enough time for anyone to create confusion among the illiterate sections and wean them away to his side," says another politician.

Technically, the process of re-structuring of the vote bank politics has just begun. At stake, particularly for Deve Gowda, is a future that he has always dreamt of since he voluntarily abdicated chief ministership of the state to head a fragile coalition called the United Front government at New Delhi eight years ago. He, obviously, wants to regain control of the state administration.

And, that is not an easy task. He has to first forge a difficult merger with the other faction, which calls itself the All India Janata Dal (AIJD), headed by S.R. Bommai, begin preparations to counter the ruling Congress' fairly good image and its developmental programmes and ensure against giving a room for the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) to gain a toehold as the main Opposition.

The task is difficult, but given Deve Gowda's remarkable capacity to manage the impossible like backing an alternative religious math head or becoming Prime Minister, only time will say.