Karnataka election: 111-year-old Siddaganga Matha leader also casted his vote on Saturday.
On polling day, Karnataka saw voters from all walks of life. Grandparents, young brides, first-time voters, celebrities, differently-abled participated enthusiastically to celebrate the "festival of democracy".
By 3 pm, 56 per cent people had casted their votes on Saturday. Among them was 111-year-old seer of Siddaganga Mutt, Shivakumara Swami, who casted his vote in Tumakuru.
For almost a century, the powerful Siddaganga mutt (seminary), one of the biggest Lingayat centres in Karnataka, has been based here. Its influence is explicit. Shivakumara Swami, chief of the mutt, among the ten most prominent of a thousand Lingayat seminaries that are spread across Karnataka.
He has reportedly never given a miss to voting in the elections held in India since its Independence.
The seer runs a string of educational institutions from engineering to business schools and colleges. Similarly, the Suttur Math seer Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji in Mysuru and the Dharmadhikari of Manjunath Swamytemple at Dharmasthala Dr Veerendra Heggade too cast their votes.
BJP chief Amit Shah earlier met Shivakumara Swami.
A differently-abled person also voted in the Badami constituency and happily posed for the cameras.