Who Is Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji? Vokkaliga Seer Backs DK Shivakumar For Karnataka CM Post

Bengaluru: Amid reports of an ongoing power tussle within the Congress government in Karnataka, Vokkaliga seer Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji backed the state's Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar for the CM post. On Wednesday, Swamiji said it was both his personal view and the sentiment within the community that Shivakumar should be the next CM of Karnataka.

The Pontiff of the Adichunchunagiri Math also expressed confidence that the Congress high command would take an appropriate decision. There is speculation of a possible change of guard in Karnataka as the Congress government completed over 2.5 years in the southern state. Reports surfaced that at the time when the Congress came to power in Karnataka in 2023, there was a purported "power-sharing" agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.

For the unversed, Shivakumar is a key leader from the Vokkaliga community and has strong presence in the Mysore region of the state.

"I am watching and reading in the media about the developments in the government. The Math is a centre of faith for the Vokkaliga community and has been a voice for other communities as well. On the CM issue, Shivakumar has not spoken to me yet," the seer told reporters on Wednesday.

"In the 2023 Assembly polls, people from the community voted, hoping one among us would become CM. It didn’t happen then. There was hope it would happen after 2.5 years, but that too now seems unlikely. If it doesn’t happen, it will sadden thousands of devotees of the Math," he added.

Who is Nirmalananda Swamiji?

Born Nagaraj on 20 July 1969 in Karnataka's Tumkur, Nirmalananda Swami is the 72nd and current Pontiff of the Sri Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math. He is also the Chancellor of Adichunchanagiri University and President of the Sri Adichunchanagiri Shikshana Trust. The seer reportedly oversees a network of over 500 educational institutions.

He pursued BE in Civil Engineering, M.Tech from IIT Chennai and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Gulbarga University. Swami is in favour of community reservations in Karnataka.