Pramod Mutalik to lock horns with Pralhad Joshi in Dharwad

Two sworn supporters of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi – one is the party’s state president and the other is the mentor of a pro-Hindu organisation – will lock horns over the same constituency in an attempt to empower their leader.

The candidates are Pralhad Joshi and mentor of Sriram Sene Pramod Mutalik. Following his failed ‘negotiations’ with the BJP for a ticket in last year’s assembly election, Mutalik finally declared his decision of contesting as an independent candidate in the Lok Sabha election from Dharwad constituency, which has been the BJP’s strong hold since 1996.

Mutalik faces about 50 cases of violating prohibitory orders, making inflammatory speeches, inciting hatred between religions, and organising military training to ‘protect’ Hindu religion. He was in the wanted list of about a dozen district police stations. His Sene was in the news for attacking a pub in Mangalore in 2009 and many other incidents of moral policing in the state.

Though he supports Modi, he has criticised Modi’s recent move of appeasing other religions, particularly Muslims, in a recent press meet.

He tried to send a warning to the BJP by organising Hindu conventions in Hubli on November 8 and on January 22. He also floated news of contesting from Dharwad or Chikmagalur.

After a closed-door meeting with Joshi recently, Mutalik’s followers were confidant that he would be felicitated by the BJP in an appropriate way. However, spirited by the ‘Modi wave’, the BJP neglected Mutalik.
Now, Joshi is reportedly worried over the division of Hindu votes in the constituency.