In the past five years, the BJP has doled out several goodies to mutts � totalling over Rs 500 crore. The party may be expecting sweet returns in the forthcoming elections but the mutt heads are singing a different tune: that of being apolitical. The largesse has come under severe criticism from the opposition, but the beneficiaries defend the largesse and dispute the claim that government money is intended to create a vote-bank among devotees. "What's wrong in the government giving money to mutts? But the government should ensure the money is spent on social causes. People may follow and abide by mutt diktats on various social issues, but it is foolish to think mutts direct people to vote for a particular party,'' said Sri Channabasava Shivacharya Swamiji of the 600-year-old

Harkud mutt in Bidar district. Discarding the theory that mutts have their own vote-bank, the seer said: "Most mutts are aloof from politics. Followers of a particular mutt may revolt against a particular politician if he or she acts against the mutt's interests. But this should not be generalized or construed as political influence of a mutt,'' he explained.