Did BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis use tantrik rituals to become the chief minister of Maharashtra again? A video of priests of Ma Bagulamukhi Temple in Agar Malwa district of Madhya Pradesh—known as a prominent tantrik pith— conducting hawan (rituals) allegedly at the Mumbai residence of Fadnavis late on Friday night—just hours before taking oath as the chief minister again—has gone viral on social media.
Photographs of the priests with Fadnavis—one of them showing the priests handing over a portrait of Ma Bagulamukhi to the Maharashtra CM—have also gone viral.
The priests have, however, denied that the rituals were conducted on Friday night. One of the priests, Pandit Kundan Sharma, told local media persons that the photographs and videos were old.
The other four priests, who conducted the rituals, included pandits Yogesh Sharma, Milan Sharma, Manoj Sharma and Devendra Sharma.
However, Pandit Akhilesh Sharma of Ma Bagulamukhi Temple confirmed to THE WEEK that five priests connected to the temple had left on Friday afternoon for Mumbai, held the rituals at Fadnavis's home in the night and were on their way back to Agar Malwa on Saturday (when THE WEEK spoke to Pandit Akhilesh Sharma).
He also gave a number of Pandit Yogesh Sharma, one of the five priests, to THE WEEK. When this correspondent contacted the number, the person who answered first confirmed that he was Pandit Yogesh Sharma, but when he was asked about the rituals, he said that it was a wrong number.
Ma Bagulamukhi Temple in Nalkheda of Agar Malwa district is one of the famous tantrik piths where politicians and others regularly get rituals conducted to get their wishes fulfilled. Priests connected to the temple also travel to places to conduct these rituals. The sister of Devendra Fadnavis reportedly visited the temple on November 17 and got tantrik rituals conducted too, sources said.
