By Sanjay Sharma, IANS,
Bhopal : With just hours left before they come to know their fate on Monday, leaders of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in Madhya Pradesh are seeking divine help for victory in the assembly elections.
If Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been touring pilgrim spots for the past three days, state president of the opposition Congress Suresh Pachouri is also counting on divine power. He paid a visit to Pitambara Peeth in Datia district Thursday and some more temples later on.
Chouhan too visited Pitambara Peeth besides the Mahakal temple in Ujjain and Lord Shiva’s temples in the holy city of Omkareshwar. His BJP colleagues Narrottam Mishra and Kailash Vijayvargiya on the other hand are in Vaishnodevi and Sai Baba’s ashram in Shirdi respectively.
Chouhan, who was in Omkareshwar Friday with his wife and children, claimed that his visit had nothing to do with the poll results alone. “It should not be seen in the context of election results alone. I have been visiting various places of worship since childhood.”
“It is part of my faith. My prayers seek peace and prosperity for the entire population of Madhya Pradesh”, said Chouhan, who appeared confident about another term in office.
Omkareshwar, on the banks of the Narmada river, is among the 12 revered Jyotirlingas considered sacred in Hindu religion. The shape of the island resembles the Hindu symbol Om.
Vijayvargiya said he was a devout Hindu. Before going to Shirdi, he said he had offered prayers at a Ganesh temple in hometown Indore and the Mahakal temple in Ujjain.
In Ujjain, over a dozen other BJP and Congress legislators are also reported to have organised yagnas (religious ceremony) in the hope of victory.
Some BJP and Congress candidates, who could not make it to the popular religious destinations, are offering prayers at important temples in their home districts. BJP candidates from Indore district Jitu Jirati, Gopi Krishna Nema, Sudarshan Gupta, Nisha Sonkar and Malini Gaur have been praying at the Ganesha temple in Khajrana locality of Indore almost daily.
BJP candidates from Ujjain district Paras Jain, Shivnarayan Jagirdar, Dilip Shekhawat and others are following suit at the Mahakal temple in Ujjain.
Sources said that most of the ministers, who found the going tough in their constituencies, organised special religious ceremony at home.
Leaders from both the Congress and the BJP had performed similar religious rituals at their homes while they camped at New Delhi lobbying for tickets.
But there are also those like former chief minister Babulal Gaur of the BJP, who see no point in visiting temples and shrines now.
“Now that the votes have been cast, I do not think these visits would make any difference. I have faith both in god and in the voters. God supports good deeds. If you have done good, you will not have much problem in winning,” said Gaur, who has won eight consecutive assembly elections from Govindpura constituency in Bhopal.