Hundreds of sadhus on Tuesday landed in Bhopal to seek votes for the Congress Lok Sabha candidate Digvijaya Singh and campaign against BJP nominee Pragya Singh Thakur. Digvijaya’s excessive inclination to religious events is seen as a move to negate BJP’s candidate Pragya’s image as religious poster girl.
Digvijaya also took part in religious rituals with his wife Amrita Singh and sought blessings of the sadhus who were led by Computer Baba, aka Namdev Das Tyagi, former close aide of Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Led by Computer Baba, they will camp in Bhopal for three days. They undertook Hath Yoga on Tuesday, followed by a road show. Hath Yoga involves asanas (positions) that help in relaxing and breathing control.
Computer Baba was bestowed Minister of State status by the then BJP-led Government in Madhya Pradesh and appointed on a panel to clean the Narmada.
However, Computer Baba later switched his loyalties and backed the Congress in Assembly polls.
Computer Baba told the media it was a fight of dharma and adharma. “Dharma was with Digvijaya Singh,” he said.
Such events would continue in favour of Singh who is a ‘dharma premi’ and ‘Narmada premi’, said the seer who accused Chouhan of illegal mining in Narmada riverbed and corruption in plantation along with Narmada banks.
Notably, BJP candidate Pragya also has called this election against Digvijay a battle of dharma and adharma.
“They (BJP) have fooled people. They have not even spared the saint community. They talked of Ram temple, they have not constructed it in five years and have come back with the same issue. The public won’t be fooled now. No temple, no Modi,” Computer Baba told reporters here.
Asked if the ritual was to pray for Digvijay’s victory, he said, “The saints prayed to God that the person who is treading on the path of religion, the one who served the river Narmada and saints is Digvijaya Singh, and should win by lakhs of votes.”
Asked about Pragya, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, he said one cannot become a sadhvi (saint) merely by wearing a robe. At the ritual, Digvijaya was seen dressed in a white kurta pyjama and seated on the ground, while the sadhus formed a semi-circle near him.
Recently Mahamandleshwar Viaragyanand from Gujarat had also announced to perform red chilli yagna to make Digvijay victorious.
A leading Jain Pushpdant Sagar saint has also extended support to candidature of Digvijay who has been seen in the company of seers daily after he was nominated from Bhopal.