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Vijay’s astrologer row shows politicians still govern with one eye on the horoscope

Radhan Pandit has always hovered dangerously close to power. Apart from Vijay, he was closely associated with Jayalalithaa and after his move to Delhi, LK Advani.

Tamil Nadu has seen this movie before. Only the hero has changed. Chief Minister Joseph Vijay’s decision to appoint his astrologer Radhan Pandit Vetrivel as Officer on Special Duty (Political) — and then hurriedly withdraw the appointment after outrage from allies and rivals — exposed an old political truth that leaders across parties prefer not to discuss openly.

For over half a century, the state sold itself as the citadel of rational politics. The land of Periyar, anti-superstition campaigns, ridicule of ritualism, and public hostility to priestcraft. Yet, behind the walls of Fort St George, chief ministers checked muhurats, ministers consulted numerologists, and political aides ferried horoscopes to astrologers before cabinet expansions and election filings.

So when Vijay appointed his astrologer, it was not anything new. India’s politicians have always done that. The surprise was the brazenness. Usually, these men enter through the back door. Vijay tried bringing one in through the front gate.

The backlash came from the opposition as well as allies embarrassed by the optics. Tamil Nadu’s political vocabulary still carries the muscle memory of rationalism even if its political class no longer practises it consistently. Ally VCK protested, Congress leaders winced, and the DMDK was furious.

Because there is a difference between a politician consulting an astrologer and the government appointing one. The objection was predictably about Vijay getting the state to formally legitimise his personal beliefs.

Radhan Pandit has always hovered dangerously close to power. In Tamil Nadu political circles, he was associated with J Jayalalithaa and was considered one of the astrologers she trusted deeply. Political timings, swearing-ins, legal strategies, campaign launches — everything was said to pass through astrological filters at some........

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