29 July,2009 11:50 AM IST | | Varun Singh
It's Assembly polls in October, silly!
Pray before Lalbaugcha Raja and all your wishes will be granted.
That's what crores of people believe, politicians in particular. And with the Assembly elections likely to take place in October, politicians will surely top the VIP list once Ganeshotsav begins on August 23.
"Several politicians visit the Raja every year, but this time with the elections, we expect many more of them to seek Bappa's blessings," said Rajendra Lanjwad, managing committee member of the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal.
Between 500 and 700 politicians paid their respects to Lalbaugcha Raja last year.
Congress's Kripashankar Singh, who has been praying to Raja for years, will visit this year too. However, he denies it's only for political gains.
"Every year is not an election year. And Raja knows how to treat those who come to Him with specific agendas," he said.
Large Numbers
In 2007, around 2 crore devotees visited Lalbaugcha Raja. And with queues up to J J Hospital last year a good 3 km away over three crore sought His blessings.
This year, the organisers are expecting more than three crore people.
