Sri Fakira Dingaleshwara Swami of Sri Fakireshwara Trust, Shirahatti, will take on Union Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mining Minister Pralhad Joshi. Vinod Asuti is the Congress candidate.

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The Lingayat seer had spoken out against Joshi recently, stating the minister had insulted Lingayats and had been responsible for the exit of B S Yediyurappa from the chief minister's post. He also blamed Joshi for denying a ticket to Jagadish Shettar from Hubballi Central in the assembly elections last year.

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Joshi, a Brahmin, had denied these charges, terming it was a misunderstanding on part of the seer. Yediyurappa had also backed Joshi's statement in the presence of the minister in Hubballi.

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Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar, when asked whether his party would support Dingaleshwara Swami, said Form B (indicating whether a candidate is put up by any political party) had already been issued to Asuti. The Dharwad constituency will go to the  polls on May 7.

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“It's up to the high command to decide. I can't do anything sitting in Bengaluru,” he said, distancing himself from the matter.

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But this is not the first time a seer is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Karnataka. Previously, Mathe Mahadevi of Koodala Sangama Kshethra and Sri Chandrashekhar Swamiji of Shandilya Ashram, Hubballi, had lost out in electoral battles.

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According to the locals, Dingaleshwara Swami had influence only in certain pockets of the Shirahatti reserved assembly constituency. They said the seer's candidature would not have any impact on the prospects of Joshi. But it was a signal nevertheless that the BJP cannot take the support of the Lingayat seers completely for granted.