Poll hopefuls seek Sai’s vote

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Poll hopefuls seek Sai’s vote

 

 

 

 

 

 

For most people, when all else fails, it’s divine intervention to the rescue. And as the Lok Sabha elections approach, candidates and seat aspirants have shown that they’re no different from the rest of us – they’ve been queuing up outside the Sai Baba temple at Shirdi hoping their prayers of winning are answered.Officials of Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust – which manages the temple – say that so far, at least 175 Lok Sabha candidates have come to seek the blessing of Sai Baba. LS hopefuls from as far as Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have visited the revered temple ahead of the elections.Only recently, two Members of Parliament from Delhi – Krishna Tirath and Sajjan Kumar – offered prayers at the shrine. Closer to home, candidates Praful Patel, Devidas Pingale and Balasaheb

Vikhe Patil from Maharashtra, too, paid a visit.“Often we don’t even know about the visits as many of the politicians wait their turn in the queue along with other pilgrims,†said Jayant Sasane, chairman of the Trust.However, since most politicians do not want to waste time waiting in the long lines, they ask trust officials to help them bypass the crowd. In such cases, added Sasane, “We help them enter the temple directly without having to wait in the queue.â€On a normal day, over one lakh devotees queue up at the shrine. On holidays and weekends, the number goes up to four lakh and during festivals, it can exceed seven lakh. So while cutting the queue may help speed things up for candidates, it may not win them too many extra votes with devotees.The Sai Baba temple is one of the most popular places of worship in the country. It has for long been a favourite of the film fraternity, who seek blessings after

signing new films or before the release of a new movie, hoping to invoke the saint’s blessings for its success. Some celebrities have even bought land to build homes near the temple so they have a place to stay during their regular trips for darshan.

 

 

 

 

jasmine

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