Power politics: AP, TS leaders' Vastu obsession costs a fortune

Vastu, numerology and power politics go hand in hand in India. Not only Andhra Politicians, but also former prime minister and iron ladies of Congress, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi were not averse to Vastu changes in their residences and office rooms. Indian's fetish for astrology is being taken to bizarre lengths by Southern politicians.

News report that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao wanted to shift the Secretariat from Tank Bund to Erragadda is not a surprise to Telengana watchers who have seen Rao performing rituals to ward off evil or ill impact of planets and stars very frequently before elections and also ahead of major political decisions. Rao wore a red band on his right arm on important milestones in his day to day happenings. Here are 12 incidents where the Vastu had an impact at national and regional events.

1. During the Emergency, Indira Gandhi consulted several godmen including Kanchi mutt pontiff to ward off evil effects. Designs of her official residence at Delhi were altered as per the direction of her astrologers. Even Maneka Gandhi (wife of son Sanjay Gandhi) was removed from her house on grounds that she was a bad influence on mother-in-law. Yet Indira failed to save her party and government.
2. UPA President Sonia Gandhi would change her car number, mobile number and also residence personal numbers as per astrological and numerologists' suggestions once in three months to ward off evil influence on her career and also that of her children.She was so superstitious that even the number of visitors was fixed as per her daily reading. She had become very particular about Vastu etc after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination as she believed that he had gone against such advise to postpone the Sriperumbudur meeting in 1991 .
3. Big B aka Amitabh Bachan had faced several turmoils in his career till he attained the age of 40 plus and the ABCL company he had floated had bombed. On Jaya Bhaduri's insistence and several vastu changes at his residence, the Bachchan family is now back to normal and prosperous life, they say.
4. In view of Vastu influence TDP founder NTR had ordered a parallel compound wall to the Secretariat and also steel extension on the right front wing of the G Block and a new gate from the east.Even when work was underway NTR went abroad for medical treatment and his deputy, NBR had chosen the time to strike and dethrone him. Although Eastern gate was completed the parallel compound wall of Secretariat in West still stands as a monument .
5. Congress CM M Channa Reddy was known for his vastu beliefs and had altered the Tarnaka residence entry and exit points more than three times even at the cost of traffic problems to people. He was the only CM to install tantric and occult paintings and artefacts in his chambers at the secretariat and residence at huge government cost .
6. We all know what happened to former Congress CM T Anjaiah. But very little is known that it all happened after Anjaiah in his unusual style got another floor built at his Barkatpura residence in spite of Vastu advise against it. After he was sacked, Anjaiah removed the entire floor but kept a single room at the top where he spent most of his last days .
7. YSR, though a Christian was also not above Vastu beliefs. The CM camp office at Begumpet was designed as per his Vastu. Officials at the CMO say that some changes made after the 2009 poll victory in the residential wing of the campus had allegedly cast a bad impact and allege his chopper crash death due to same .
8. YS Jagamohan Reddy, son of YSR and a strong man of Rayalaseema was also not without Vastu beliefs.His bungalows at Lotus pond, Pulivendula, Kadapa and Bangalore are built as per Vastu. Popular belief in his household and his close aides is that his failure to personally participate in some religious events - homams - conducted at Tirupati, Pulivendula and Hyderabad had left a void and hence the troubles with courts, CBI etc
9. AP CM Chandrababu Naidu also believed in Vastu. His house and party office-NTR bhavan underwent huge vastu changes ahead of 2014 general elections. A portion of the four storey building adjacent to NTR trust was chopped off and even the cellar roof was removed to make room for a southern entry point for Chandrababu caravan on the advise of astrologers hired by his wife Bhuvaneswari . Even the entry points at his Jubilee hills residence are now being altered and the renovation works are underway.
10. Temporary and in charge CM K Rosaiah did not want to occupy the CM camp office and spent almost all days of his short regime from his SR Nagar residence. But CMO officials say that Rosaiah got some more additions done to his residence after which his tenure was cut short.
11. Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao had opted for a new CM camp office initially at Kundan Bagh, but later shifted to present residence cum camp office after huge changes in portico and also residential blocks. In fact, the bed room used by YSR and Kiran Kumar Reddy have been completely re done in the CM camp office and even the direction of the doors changed. 'Even the kitchen has been shifted to different location in the house,' say insiders.
12. We all know that while Chandrababu believed in numerology and his number was 8. His car number was 393 .So were all other numbers of his residence, phone etc.
13. Similarly K Chandrasekhar Rao had fancy for Number 6. His car number, his chamber is on 6th floor and his mobile number all are 6-centric .

According to an estimate, the Vastu changes in the chambers of ministers of both AP and Telangana in the Secretariat and residences have cost the exchequer over Rs 173 crore (Chandrababu - 61 crore, KCR - 34 crore). Taking a leaf from their masters, the bureaucrats- IAS and IPS officials ( 31 so far ) have also been making Vastu changes in their chambers and residences to suit the Vastu influence of their new masters .