All in the Stars: why BJP's problems are mounting

QUICK PILL

Star speak

• According to some astrologers, the planet Saturn in giving BJP a tough time
• They also say that BJP\'s misfortunes may continue till 2017

More in the story

• Why some other astrologers are refraining from making predictions?
• How do the BJP\'s stars look for the upcoming UP elections?

"A dog can bite you even atop a camel if the stars are not favouring you," goes a popular Hindi proverb. Many Indians do tend to believe in the power of adverse planetary combinations that make the winds blow in the opposite direction, no matter how cosy the weather might be.

The BJP seems to have run into a patch of rough weather these days. The downpour of bad luck on the party is even more severe than the monsoon lashing several parts of the country. The saffron party seems inundated in the flood of crisis, its minarets and foundations, built so meticulously over the years, running the risk of going under .

Astrologers would say that the stars are not being kind to the BJP's fortunes.

Superstitions run deep

No rational person would ever believe in the supremacy of astrological planets over human deeds. But, the BJP does. And, so do the other political parties.Few leaders dare to take oath during Pitra Paksha, a period considered inauspicious in Hindu astrology.

Many netas do not venture out to campaign before 'martyring' a lemon under their car wheels. Some refrain from washing their hair on Thursdays while some female leaders consider it their duty to fast on festivals like Karwa Chauth and Teej.

What do the stars say?

The Panchang or almanac is indispensable for such unscientific minds. And the calculations of the same Panchang seem to suggest that black clouds are hovering over the BJP's fortunes these days.

The embarrassment over the razing of Ambedkar Bhawan, speculations surrounding Navjot Singh Sidhu's attrition are all bad omens.

Some of BJP's own leaders, like Subramanian Swamy, are turning out to be the malicious planets in the party's astrological chart.

Expert speak

Rishi Dwivedi, a Varanasi-based astrologer says, " BJP's astrological sign is Mithun (Gemini) and Vrishchik (Scorpion) is its ascendant sign (lagna). The party is facing Sade Sati (the menacing phase of the planet Saturn) since November 2014."

Shani (Saturn) is ruling over BJP's head causing it to get into one trouble after another.

Trouble and more trouble

Modi invited US President Barack Obama in the beginning of 2015, right after the onset of the Sade Sati according to BJP's astrology chart, to attend the Republic Day festivities.

The limelight, however, was hogged by Modi's controversial suit, much to the chagrin of the Prime Minister.

It was a worldwide embarrassment for him as well as his party.

Just when that controversy was about to blow over, the BJP was thrashed by Kejriwal's party in the Delhi Assembly elections.

Before the party could recuperate from this humiliation, the Lalitgate scandal added to its woes.

As if that was not enough, Vasundhara Raje's links with Lalit Modi, Vyapam Scam in MP and the Rice Scam in Chhattisgarh compounded the BJP's problems.

The party failed to pass a single Bill in the Parliament despite a resounding majority.

But the influence of bad planetary influence did not end at that. The Bihar election fiasco broke the myth of Modi's invincibility.

The Modi wave subsided and the BJP was squarely beaten in the battle of Bihar.

And more trouble still

The BJP's own house was far from being harmonious. If the coterie of elders made no secret of their discontent, some young turks like Kirti Azad were in no mood of conciliation either.

The not-so-benevolent eye of Saturn continued to haunt the BJP during the 2015 Winter Session of Parliament and the 2016 Budget Session.

Barring the exception of Assam, the BJP has little to show in terms of achievements after 2014.

"The ruling planet of the BJP's lagna is Mercury. Its bad luck will continue till January 2017," Dwivedi predicts.

According to Dwivedi, the planet Mercury is less hazardous for Geminis despite 'the mahadasha of the Sun'. The Sade Sati phase of Saturn also gives some benefits on certain occasions, Assam being one for the BJP.

Predictions for Uttar Pradesh elections

But, will the stars be good enough to bestow the BJP with victory in Uttar Pradesh (UP) elections?

Acharya Dwivedi does not have a definite answer to this million-dollar question.

"The BJP's planetary combinations are okay. But, the stars of the other parties could still be better. One cannot make a prediction without examining them. The calculation, so far, suggests, the BJP will gain," he says.

Manish Manohar Pandey, another astrologer in Varanasi, has a different theory.

"The BJP is not an individual. Therefore, it is not possible to make an astrological calculation to predict its future. The name of an individual, the precise time and place of his or her birth are necessary for accurate calculations. We can ascertain these factors for leaders like Modi or Sonia Gandhi, but this is not possible in the case of a political party," Pandey surmises.

The astrological calculations are simple mathematics and so are political calculations of UP. To get the political arithmetic right, the BJP will have to fix the planet Saturn, not the one in its astrological chart, but the one plaguing its own camp.

The sooner it does so, better it would be for its prospects in UP.

Edited by Jhinuk Sen

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