Hyderabad: Election time is when party candidates traverse every corner of their borough, folding hands to seek an audience with voters and woo them with promises and schemes.
But the election is also the time when candidates look up for divine intervention and ensure their planetary positions are aligned well enough to get more beeps next to their names on the electronic voting machines.
For that, they are all making a beeline to meet spiritual gurus and astrologers to help them connect with the Almighty as well as appease the planets to align in their favour.
The most sought-after deities in the poll season seem to be ‘Shakthi’, with Sri Raja Syamala, Sri Bagalamukhi and Sri Kamakhya being politicians’ favourites.
Astrologers say, “Placement of five of the nine planets in the birth chart is very important for success in politics.”
Astro guru in Hyderabad, Mantha Suryanarayana Sharma, told DH, “If Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Rahu are placed well in a birth chart, that person will excel in politics. Some corrections can be made to one or two planets, if others are aligned in a positive manner. We suggest certain remedies in the form of some specialised rituals that are to be done with a lot of dedication and penance.”
However, Sharma, who has a high-profile clientele from both the Telugu states and abroad, warns that if the ‘yog’ (or positive impact of planets) is not there in the birth chart, no remedial rituals can help find success. In this context, he adds that touts take gullible people for a ride, so they must understand the importance of ‘yog’.
Many leaders are performing special rituals for the Shakti deities. But, getting an expert for this is an arduous task by itself.
BRS leader and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is known to conduct Chandi yagam on a large scale. A Vizag-based seer of Sri Sarada Peetham, Swamy Swaroopanandendra Saraswathy, has performed the Sri Raja Syamala Yagam for both KCR and YSRCP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The Raja Syamala Yagam is generally conducted by kings before going to war.
(Published 31 October 2023, 03:07 IST)