Some use only a particular colour of ink to sign their name. Others wear several layers of clothing, or fur hats, or even gold chains around their waists. And then there are those who would want to be in their birthday suits.
This isn’t from the lifestyles of the eccentric and famous, but from what candidates are doing as the process for electing a new Karnataka Assembly gets underway.
The regular Indian fetish for astrology is being taken to bizarre lengths in this key southern battleground.
Black magic, vaastu, superstition: you name it, and it’s there in the great Karnataka poll show. Though it is close to a week since the Congress, BJP and the Janata Dal ( Secular) announced the first list of candidates, only 27 have filed nominations so far. Most of the candidates will file the nomination on April 15 ( Monday), as it is considered the most auspicious day of the month.
Pointing nomination papers towards the north is standard operating procedure now, as is using green or blue ink to sign them. Red and black inks bode ill, and are avoided at all costs.
The kind of garment candidates wear while filing their nomination papers is also a matter of great deliberation and absurd results. One Congress candidate wore six layers of clothing to file his papers during the last elections.
Katta Subrahmanya Naidu of the BJP, who went on to become a minister, always wears a fur hat while filing his papers. And he’s one of the simple ones. One particular candidate has had his rather brave astrologer suggest being stark naked when signing nomination papers, thankfully at home.
Others go deeper within, specifying that candidates wear undergarments of a particular colour on the day of filing the nomination.
“ The colour is matched with the colour of the birthstone. If the birthstone of a candidate is ruby, we suggest him to wear a red- coloured undergarment.
The Vedas have a chapter dedicated to colour combinations for humans and we are just suggesting out of them,” says well- known astrologer Sathyananda Swami.
The number of gold and diamond rings and gold chains ( avalakki sara ) also matter. Former minister Revanna is known for wearing gold chains, including one across his waist, before filing his nomination.
During the last elections, Congress candidate Yatish wore 20 rings while filing his nomination.
That’s two on each finger.
A few candidates have even changed the names of their homes and offices in accordance with the numerological dictates. For instance, Shankarlinge Gowda, who migrated to the JD( S) from the BJP, believes in commencing campaigning at 5.30 am every day because it is auspicious for him. Suresh Marihal, a BJP candidate in North Karnataka, does not campaign after 5 pm, fearing Banamati, a kind of black magic.
Black magic is no bit player. Film actressturned- politician Umashree, who is contesting from Terdal constituency in North Karnataka on a Congress ticket, has been accused of performing black magic on her BJP rival. Umashree dismisses the allegations as a conspiracy to malign her image.
Former chief minister and Karnataka Janata Paksha founder B. S. Yeddyurappa is busy visiting a few unheard of temples in coastal Karnataka. Incidentally, these temples are popular for black magic.
Kollegala in Chamarajanagar district is known for black magic experts and according to reliable sources, plenty of Congress and JD( S) leaders are visiting the town for consultation.
“ We don’t know if our leaders are visiting Kollegala, but VIP visits have become common to this town ever since the candidates’ list was announced,” local Congress spokesperson Mariswamy says.
Important leaders even have the habit of ensuring a signal- free drive on the way to filing nominations. For, red signals mean bad luck.
None of the top leaders of Congress, BJP and JD( S) are an exception to this trend of following their own beliefs. For instance, the first list of JD( S) contained the names of 122 candidates because the party’s supreme leader H. D. Deve Gowda strongly believes in numerology.
Gowda’s family considers 5 a lucky number and the numerals in 122 add up to 5.
Gowda even has the habit of shifting into his new house in south Bangalore during poll time because it is Vaastucompliant.
During elections, Gowda always moves into his son- in- law’s house. In the last five years, he has constructed a Vaastu- compliant house out of which his office operates. Though Gowda has another house to stay, he prefers to stay in the Vaastu- compliant house during elections.
Not to be left behind, his elder son and former minister H. D. Revanna too has built a similar house. When the BJP and JD( S) formed a coalition government, Revanna lost the race for chief minister. His well- wishers had blamed it on his then house, which was not Vaastu- compliant.
This election, Vaastu experts are in very high demand with their services starting from as high as ` 50,000 per visit.
“ In the last one week, we visited at least 30 candidates’ homes and suggested changes or relocation to a different house. A candidate’s prospects in elections are directly dependent on the Vaastu of his/ her house,” declares Pandit Narendra Shastri, a well- known Vaastu and numerology consultant.
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