Pic for representation purpose. Photo: DC
Hyderabad: Like the proverbial “formula” every filmmaker relies on, sure that it will make his film a hit, leaders too have their own formulas to appease the gods of elections. But as we know, like films, not every politician wins.
For our leaders, voters often take second place to stars, tips from tantriks and trying to win divine favour.
TRS supremo K. Chandrasekhar Rao is often seen wearing a red flashy band above his elbow called ‘Imam-e-Zamin’, apparently for success and safety.
YSRC leader Vijayalakshmi always carries a Bible and of late, TD supremo Chandrababu Naidu has been regularly sporting vermillion after performing pujas for success.
And of course, the tried and tested method of offering gold to deities, preferred by the likes of T. Jayaprakash Reddy, never goes out of style.
With the crucial Assembly and Lok Sabha elections here, contestants are rushing to every temple, mosque, church, gurdwara and other places of worship besides astrologers and tantriks for success. And some get pretty interesting tips.
Srinivas Gargeya, the astrologer who conducted pujas at Chandrababu Naidu’s Ugadi bash, received several politicians seeking his advice on jumping to other parties and winning the polls.
“I give some simple tips to raise their confidence level. Take red gram (kandi pappu), fry, powder it and mix it with coconut oil. With the middle finger of the right hand, apply the same on the neck. It gives confidence,” reveals Gargeya.
The astrologer suggests another simple remedy, “Take three drops of quality honey, pour it on the right hand, turn towards north before 7.30 am, close eyes, take a deep breath and lick the honey.”
According to Gargeya, there are several tantric remedies that will enhance confidence, chances of success in politics and other endeavours. “I don’t normally give predictions. I only help them in value addition,” he tells DC.
Gargeya, like other astrologers, makes it clear that success can be achieved in elections only if “Guru, Shani, Ravi and other stars” are favourable for the politician according to correct date and time of birth.
“It all depends on the stars. If the stars are favourable, you will win, if not, then no. There are some who suggest Chandi Yagam. It’s good to conduct homam, but it can’t assure you 100 per cent success.”
He adds, “If all contestants conduct Chandi Yagam, all cannot win. Only one candidate wins in an Assembly or Lok Sabha constituency. I am quite careful about suggesting Chandi Yagam.”
Astrologer and scholar Dr Mahantaiah also gave tips to several politicians. “For success, Guru, Shani and Ravi should be favourable. We do suggest Chandi homam and other pujas for a minimum of three days. But ultimately, it’s the gods who decide your fate,” he says.
Another astrologer, who refuses to be named, suggests feeding roti to three black dogs daily.
“It helps the person in achieving the goal. If you care for people, especially the sick and needy, animals and birds, you will certainly achieve success.”
‘Bureaucracy should be off politicos’ hook’
Bureaucracy has been hit hard by political interference, leading to corruption and other unhealthy practices affecting governance, said Mohammed Ali Rafath, managing director of AP Dairy Development Cooperative Federation, in his recently-published book "Bureaucracy and Politics."
- He should know as he faced quick transfers for refusing to toe the line of some politicians.
The bureaucrat who has a Ph.D in political science, suggests model legislation along the lines of Westmin-ster, UK, to remove any ambiguity in the political executive-bureaucracy relationship and ensure the latter’s independence.
- “Greed for money, clamour for good postings, insecurity and the politician-bureaucrat nexus has come to the fore due to the absence of such legislation. IAS, IPS officers are at the mercy of political bosses for postings, promotions and transfers unlike in the UK, where an independent Board of Civil Services decides,” Mr Rafath said.
The book assumes significance in the wake of the state bureaucracy being in turmoil due to certain controversial decisions taken by the YSR government, leading to several officers and politicians going to jail, including YSR Congress MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, ex-minister Mopidevi Venkataramana, IAS officers Sri Lakshmi, B.P. Acharya and several others.
- “There is degradation in the value system of the All India Services. The economic growth of the country has also produced a class of middlemen who lobby with the politicians and have vested economic interests — it’s an investment-less business with the highest returns based on mere public relations skills,” he said.
- The rise of middlemen and ‘extra constitutional authority’ is something before which some ministers, IAS, IPS and other officials prostrate themselves.
According to the author, in the absence of legislation, civil servants in India have come under the control of ministers, thereby the concept of a committed bureaucracy is slowly and imperceptibly gaining ground, thus enhancing the chances of abuse of official machinery to the advantage of a particular ruling party — a phenomenon that might transform democracy into demagogy.
Punters thrive on bypolls
While bets have been pouring in regarding the outcome of the bypolls in the 18 Assembly segments and the Nellore Lok Sabha seat, sources said that betting had reached a feverish pitch for the Parkal Assembly constituency.
Parkal was the only segment in the Telangana region that had bypolls and though initially the odds favoured the Telangana Rashtra Samiti or the Bharatiya Janata Party to win, the high polling percentage there has led to sudden speculations that Kadapa MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s party might surprise everyone.
So, along with the TRS, many bookies have put their money on the YSR Congress. While most gamblers have bet on the YSR Congress winning around 14 seats, bookies are also accepting bets that the Congress and Telugu Desam will win one to two seats each.
Bypolls rejuvenate gambling industry
Large-scale betting on the just-concluded bypolls in the state have been reported from Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam besides Guntur, East Godavari, West Godavari, Vizianagaram and other places in the state and also from Bellary and Bengaluru in neighbouring Karnataka.
“People are betting heavily on the YSR Congress. The bet is on whether the party would get 14 seats, less than that or more. Some have also bet on the TD and the Congress in some constituencies. The bypolls have actually given a new lease of life to the betting syndicate,” said a source.
Sources said bets worth around Rs 1,000 crore would have been placed though it could not be confirmed given its illegal nature.
Industry sources said that besides the number of seats a party would win, bets were also being accepted on individual candidates winning or losing, who would win with the highest margin, the party with the highest and lowest number of seats and the parties that would come second and third.
Bets are also being accepted on whether the Kiran government will survive a month after the results. This, however, has very few takers, said sources.
No comments:
Post a Comment