A close confidant of BSY, 83-year-old B.J. Puttaswamy will be anointed as pontiff of Thaileshwara Ganigara Mahasamsthana on May 15

Bengaluru: Senior BJP leader B.J. Puttaswamy has initiated into a spiritual life of asceticism, renouncing a political career that spanned four decades.

Puttaswamy, 83, will be anointed as the first pontiff of Thaileshwara Ganigara Mahasamsthana on May 15 and will be known as Poornanandapuri Swamy.

 Puttaswamy, who belongs to the Ganiga community, received deekshe from Kailasa Ashrama Mahasamsthana Mutt Seer Jayendra Puri on Friday last. He was initiated into a life of bhramacharya on Thursday.

A close confidant of former Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa, Puttaswamy served as Minister and was, until recently, the Vice-Chairperson of Karnataka State Policy and Planning Commission. 

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and other political leaders are expected to attend his coronation as a pontiff on May 15. Generally, political leaders rush to religious Mutts to seek blessings of Seers during election time. Now with State Assembly polls to be held in 2023, will politicians seek blessings of this new politician-turned-Swamy remains to be seen.