 "Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav (left) and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi (Photo: PTI)")
With the Election Commission banning opinion polls from February 4, astrologers have taken to predicting the outcome of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls that begin on February 11.
Representing diverse interest groups, while one set of soothsayers has forecast an outright win for the "gathbandhan" (Congress-SP alliance), another set has vouched for the exact opposite.
Pramod Gautam, chairman of Vedic Sutram, told IANS: "Phoney pundits should stop distorting a much respected and time-tested science. We base our findings on authentic birth charts of the key players."
Pratik Pandey of Astrosage.com said: "These days so many fake astrologers have flooded the market that they have created a credibility crisis. People have begun suspecting this esoteric science."
Releasing his predictions, at a press conference on Tuesday, Gautam, whose earlier predictions on three occasions were proved correct, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "clearly the winner as his stars continue to be favourable". This, he said, should benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in UP.
"The kundali (birth chart) of both the BJP and Narendra Modi indicate powerful and positive energy resulting in sterling performance at the hustings."
On the other hand, Gautam said the influence of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is clearly seen on the party which will "bring negative energy to the alliance".
"Behenji (BSP chief Mayawati) will face numerous hurdles, including betrayal by trusted colleagues. She may also face health issues in future. The negative impact of Shani (Saturn) on her kundali is clearly visible and this will hamper her march to victory," Gautam added.
Elections in the state are scheduled for February 11, 15, 19, 23, 27 and March 4 and 8. The results will be out on March 11.
