In the Karnataka election campaign, the issue of whether Lingayats should be considered members of a separate religion remains a central issue. And top bosses of the Congress and the BJP have been visiting Lingayat mutts in the state. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday visited the Siddaganga mutt in Tumakuru to meet 111-year-old Sri Sri Shivakumar Swamiji and also to reiterate the Congress interest in Lingayats who are seen as loyal to the BJP.
