Temple visits and consulting astrologers are common practices of politicians during elections. But Janata Dal (Secular) leaders went a step further when they sought blessings of the gods for the whole lot of ‘B’ forms to be distributed to the party candidates for the Assembly elections.
The former Minister H.D. Revanna took the forms to the famed temple of Venkateshwara on Tirumala and Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam.
His father, former Prime Minister and party supremo H.D. Deve Gowda, took the the lot to Sringeri to seek the blessings of the seer there. Soon after seeking the blessing of the seer, Bharathi Theertha, on Wednesday, Mr. Gowda handed over the first form to H.G. Venkatesh, the party’s candidate for Sringeri.
Mr. Gowda’s family is known to believe in temple visits and rituals, but getting the ‘B’ forms “blessed” en mass is new for the party. “In the past, senior leaders of the party and members of Mr. Gowda family had taken their ‘B’ forms and got blessings,” said a party source. Most of the 125 “blessed” forms were distributed to party candidates on Wednesday and Thursday. They party is expected to announce the second list of candidates in a day or two.
