Rajasthan Polls: Candidates flocking to astrologers for advice

If polls are round the corner, Nathulal Vyas must be extremely busy. A well-known astrologer in Karoi village of Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district who shot to fame when Union minister Smriti Irani paid a visit to his home after joining the cabinet in 2014, he is seldom short of visitors. But ahead of elections, he has to contend with a string of ticket-seekers and candidates who want to know what lies in fate for them.

A large number of politicians from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are coming to seek his advice, Vyas told ET. “It’s election time. People are coming. I advise them only when I see ‘raj yog (ruler’s destiny)’ in the kundali (horoscope). If stars are not favourable I straightaway ask them to switch to another profession,” he said.

Several ministers in the existing cabinet benefited from his advice in the past, he said. “I won’t name them. But people know that (former president) Pratibha Patil, Smriti Irani, (politician) Amar Singh and Yashodhara Raje, minister in Madhya Pradesh government and sister of chief minister Vasundhara Raje, have come for celestial pointers,” said Vyas.


In the run-up to the December 7 election, both BJP and Congress are grappling with an unprecedented number of ticket-seekers. The uncertainty over tickets has led to a surge in nervousness among politicians and prompted many of them to turn to Vyas and other astrologers for advice and ‘upaye’ (remedy).

“Every day politicians are coming for puja at my place. In every election, they come to seek blessings of Shakambari Mata before the polls,” said high-profile astrologer Kedar Sharma, whose list of patrons includes the Ambanis, Kumar Mangalam Birla, LN Mittal, Gautam Adani, Kapil Sibbal and Pratibha Patil.

Sharma is best known for having given astrological advice to then US President Bill Clinton, who had invited him to visit White House at the time. “I offer puja only for those who have it in their horoscope to win elections. It’s not good to give anyone false hopes,” he said.

Pandit Suresh Siddha, another astrologer who has poll aspirants queuing up for advice, said aspirants mostly want to know what puja they should perform and what colour they should wear to get a ticket for sure. A first-time candidate from the Congress offered another perspective. “There are a couple of astrologers who have great influence over those who decide the ticket. We seek their favour in pushing our names for candidature,” he said on condition of anonymity.