Hard-Nosed Attempt At Soft Hindutva? KCR Commences Three-Day 'Yagam' Ceremony As Telangana Elections Approach

With only two days left for the nomination process to begin for the forthcoming assembly elections in Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, also known as KCR, initiated a three-day "Raja Shyamala Yagam" at his Erravelli farmhouse in Siddipet district, as reported by Hindustan Times.

The ritual aims to seek victory in the state polls and promote the all-round development of Telangana.

Supervised by Visakha Sharada Peethadhipati Sri Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati, the Yagam involves the participation of 170 Vedic pundits from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, as per an official statement from the Chief Minister's office.

At the outset of the Yagam, KCR, his wife Shobha, and other family members took a pledge to perform the ritual, which has been named "Raja Shyamala Sahita Subrahmenyashwara Yagam" following prayers for Lord Ganesha and cows.

During the inauguration of the Yagam, Swaroopanandra Saraswati emphasised that this was not only for KCR's success but also for the comprehensive development of Telangana.

He described it as the most potent of all Vedic rituals and lauded KCR's deep knowledge of Hindu scriptures. The seer also credited the past performance of Raja Shyamala Yagam for Hyderabad's transformation into a world-class city.

Even before coming to power in June 2014, KCR performed significant Yagams like the Chandi Yagam and Maha Mruthyunjaya Homam at the Telangana Bhavan, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) headquarters, believing it contributed to the realisation of Telangana's statehood.

The Raja Shyamala Yagam continues this tradition as the state gears up for the upcoming assembly elections.