With the two-day Vidhan Sabha session slated to begin at Gairsain in Chamoli district from Thursday, Chief Minister Harish Rawat sought the blessings of lord Vishnu the Preserver in His incarnation of Badrinath, visiting his shrine for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. The CM had earlier visited the Badrinath temple and paid his obeisance to the lord on Tuesday and again, on the eve of the start of two-day Vidhan Sabha session in Gairsain, the chief minister visited the Badrinath shrine to seek blessings of the lord. Seeking the blessings of lord Badrinath may also be considered to be a natural sentiment in general of the people especially in Uttarakhand. The important place of lord Badrinath in the state and its people’s belief system can also be gauged by the fact that the war cry of the Garhwal Rifles is “Badri Vishal lal Ki Jai”, which translates to “victory to the great lord Badrinath”. Observers point out that the chief minister visiting Badrinath for the second consecutive day may be considered only normal not only for the CM but for any believer or devotee of the lord to visit the shrine repeatedly provided similar facilitation and opportunity. Political analysts point out that Chief Minister Harish Rawat has so far succeeded in tackling a range of challenges ranging from financial, governmental and the political, especially after 10 ex-MlAs of the Congress shifted loyalties and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. The various ongoing governmental schemes for public welfare in addition to decisions taken by the State cabinet especially in its recent meetings purportedly with an eye on the coming assembly polls are being cited by the establishment as the positive facets of the State Government under Rawat as the CM. However, observers opine that the CM might have all the more reason to seek the blessings of lord Badrinath –incarnation of lord Vishnu the Preserver—considering the ongoing protests by various groups with varied demands along with the ‘usual’ issues of perceived factionalism in the party and the drastic changes brought about in the political scenario following the 10 ex Congress MlAs including former CM Vijay Bahuguna joining the BJP.