'Rahul Gandhi will come into the limelight soon and rescue the Congress'

M S Shankar in Hyderabad

Will the United Front form the next federal government with help from the Congress? How long it will last? Who will succeed H D Deve Gowda? Will Rahul Gandhi, son of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, plunge into Indian politics? What's in store during Eashwaranama savaschara (the current Telugu calendar year) for the entire nation?

Certain forecasts have come true with uncanny accuracy. Whether it was loss of life due to cyclones in Andhra Pradesh, the demise of N T Rama Rao or the downfall of Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, all these prophecies have come true.

"Political instability," says well-known astrologer Budi Satyanarayana Siddha, "continues to persist on the national level." Does this mean that a mid-term election is inevitable? "Yes," he affirms, "they are expected during this year." When pressed for specifics, he only said, "Maybe towards the end of this year. But why talk of political instability in India alone? The same thing will happen in several other countries."

He says there will be constant struggle among various political wings to usurp power at the Centre. The weaker sections and backward communities will become part of the national governing power. Besides, three or four prominent people will die during this calendar year.

The nation will face many problems, including violence. Escalation of terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh cannot be ruled out. In Andhra Pradesh, the Naxalite movement and the movement for a separate Telengana will gain momentum. Intercaste marriages will be on the rise.

There will be heavy loss of human lives due to natural calamities like earthquakes and cyclones. The total lunar eclipse on September 19 will bring heavy rains to the state. Similar, heavy rainfall is likely in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Satyanarayana believes that Rahul Gandhi will come into the limelight soon and will rescue the Congress during the mid-term election. However, he ruled out the possibility of the Congress coming back to power in the present crisis.

Astrologer D L N Murthy claims, "The UF will split soon. The new government, which will come to power with the help of Congress, may survive for the few months that it will require to prepare the election schedule."

Murthy predicts that former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao will return to the limelight after April 26 and continue to play a key role up to November at least. "Rao may either become prime minister or President. But the by-elections will be deferred by six more months." He too predicted a large loss of human life due to natural calamities and the deaths of three or four prominent people.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Pandit Butte Veerabhadra Daivagna of Rajamundry (east Godavari district) in his Gantala Panchangam 1997-98, which he prepared eight months ago. He had, then, predicted the present political crisis and said that not only would the prime minister, president and other leaders face numerous problems, they would also lose their posts to younger people. He has not ruled out the possibility of a state of emergency being imposed in the country during the summer.

Daivagna sounded the alarm for Nara Chandrababu Naidu's government, by predicting total unrest in the days to come. The state would also face agitations by employees of the government, railways and the electricity board.

Interestingly, all these astrologers have predicted the death of three or four prominent people, heavy human loss due to natural calamities like earthquakes and cyclones and political unrest at the national level. But they refuse to specify the month and time of the mid-term poll.

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