TRS MLA takes 500 villagers to Yadadri for special darshan

HYDERABAD: Voters in the Munugode Assembly constituency in Telangana state, who will head for polling on November 3 in a high-stakes bypoll between the TRS, BJP, and the Congress, appear to have hit the jackpot, with at least those from one village, also scoring a quick and well-organised pilgrimage to the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Yadadri.

And the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti has yet again taken the lead in wooing voters if the goings-on on Thursday are any indication. Party MLA A. Jeevan Reddy, in-charge of ensuring votes in the Dandu Malkapur village, not leaving anything to chance — and in what appears to be a can’t-go-wrong-with-it move that will ensure all D. Malkapur voters will cast their ballots for the TRS candidate —  took people from the village to the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple for a special darshan.

The TRS has been at the forefront in wooing voters what with its ‘atmeeya sabhas’ where people of villages are plied with mutton and chicken biryanis every day, not to forget liquor to those who want it. Though promises of cash too for the votes are making the rounds, people by and large in the constituency say that they are yet to see any of that come by into their pockets. Chasing the TRS is the BJP when it comes to wooing voters, with a cash and manpower strapped Congress in a distant third place.

Jeevan Reddy is reported to have arranged 15 TSRTC buses to take around 500 villagers to the Yadadri temple from the village, over a distance of around 74 km, and managed to organize special darshan for the villagers, with rumours swirling that in the process, even the daily rituals of the temple – particularly ‘Naivedyam – (offerings to the deity)’ – being set aside briefly so the prospective voters for the ruling party can have a quick and efficient darshan. Local officials ensured smooth visit for the villagers ensuring no hiccups once the buses reached the temple town, and were escorted to the temple on top of the hill.

However, assistant executive officer of the temple G. Raghu told Deccan Chronicle that “irrespective of who the pilgrim is, there was no question of disrupting the daily ‘kainkaryams (services) to the Lord.”

The reports doing the rounds that the Naivedyam ritual was disrupted is incorrect, he clarified, adding that since Thursday was a work day, the crowd in the temple was thin and all the pilgrims who visited, did not require more than 15 or 20 minutes to have a darshan of the deity.

The Naivedyam takes around 45 to 50 minutes and there was no disruption and everyone who came had a peaceful darshan, the temple official said.