BENGALURU: If BJP candidate Anand Singh, the disqualified MLA who jumped ships, wins the byelection from Vijayanagar in Ballari district, some may credit it to the vigorous campaigning or to local equations. But those close to him may, however, attribute his win to his pink shirt!
Like many netas, Anand Singh lives by his superstitions. So on Thursday, the polling day, he wore his favourite pink shirt. In fact, sources close to him confirmed that he believes that shirts in shades of pink colour bring him luck. “Throughout his campaign he wore pink shirts. On every election day, he wears a pink shirt. This he does as per the astrologer who told him that pink is his lucky colour as per his birth time,’’ sources said. It is said that he has 15 shirts in various shades of pink!
And it’s not just shirts. Beliefs can even stretch to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). JDS candidate B L Devaraj from KR Pet who went to cast his vote changed the direction of the EVM as per the suggestion of a vastu expert. For him, it was vastu first and voting next. Looks like he is influenced by party leader H D Revanna’s superstitions. Revanna is more into such ‘’practices’’ which are said to bring him luck. He walks barefoot to polling stations and even during oath- taking ceremony. It may be noted that members of the Deve Gowda’s family contesting elections — Lok Sabha or Assembly — look for a particular direction to file nominations to contest as well as collect the winning certificate.
BJP candidate from KR Pet Narayanagowda went a step further and showed his reverence to the voting exercise. He removed his footwear before entering the polling booth. There he prayed for a few seconds before casting his vote.
A BJP leader said they have told candidates to wear vermilion on their foreheads. “We in the party believe it’s a positive sign, all our candidates wear kumkuma (vermilion),’’ he said.
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uperstitions do leave an ‘indelible mark’ on elections. Apart from visiting shrines, some candidates even consulted their astrologers to know the auspicious time to cast their vote.