Vote-seeking apart, rituals mark AIADMK's campaign

 Blazing fire from numerous yagnas and homas vie the scorching sun, while hundreds line the temples on spiritual processions as the ruling AIADMK seeks divine intervention to retain power in Tamil Nadu.

Hundreds of party functionaries, ministers and even their beloved leader ‘Amma’ never forget their rituals and appeasement of gods and goddesses to ensure the divine power matches with people’s might, as they seek the second consecutive  mandate, unprecedented in recent times.

Personal worships apart, functionaries organise Sudharsana Yagam, Chandi Maha Yagam, Maha Rudra Yagam, Saha Chandhi Yagam and various vedic rituals, while women members carry milk pots to temples and men tonsure their heads or pull temple chariots as they ask gods to restore Amma in power.

Even Jayalalithaa never forgets the “divine touch” as “flowers and water” are being offered to gods when she enters  venues of rallies or campaign stopovers.

Almost all senior leaders including ministers O Panneerselvam and P Valarmathi are taken to “pleasing the gods” not only for their personal victories, but the return of ‘Amma’ to Fort Saint George, Tamil Nadu’s seat of power.

Panneerselvam seemingly never forgets to offer prayers at “Lord Ganesha” temple before leaving home for campaign duties, while others like B Valarmadhi, Gokula Indira, Sundararaj, P Thangamani, R B Udhaya Kumar and Sellur K Raju organise grand prayers for their party’s good fortunes at the hustings.

The 'Thiru Vilakku' pooja involving large number of women were also organised at various Amman temples across the state each Friday where women light up thousands of lamps and offer pooja.

The rituals also get gruesome as activists pierce their tongue with the lander with prayers of an AIADMK victory.

Special “archanas” were also conducted in prominent temples in the states such as “Aarupadai Veedu” or the six aboards of Lord Muruga, Arunachaleshwara in Tiruvannamalai, Srirangam  Ranganathaswamy and Kanyakumari Bagavathi temples.

Prayers have also been held in mosques and all prominent churches in Chennai and other parts of the state.