Karnataka has its own version of the Noida jinx, in Chamarajanagara

Like the superstition that ruling UP politicians lose power if they visit Noida, leaders in Karnataka shun Chamarajanagara due to similar belief

Chamarajanagara district in the southernmost tip of Karnataka has a notoriety attached to it. A number of politicians believe that visiting this place leads them to lose power, which is why they avoid it. This superstition started after Devraj Urs, then a powerful CM visited the place and lost power.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned in Santhemarahalli, on the outskirts of Chamarajanagara, critics said he did so to avoid the jinx. .A number of politicians believe that visiting this place leads them to lose power, which is why they avoid it. (PTI)

This reminds one of the so-called Noida jinx that keeps Uttar Pradesh ruling politicians away from the urban hub abutting Delhi as they believe a visit here may end up in their losing power

Urs wasn’t the only one to fall to the jinx.

Gundu Rao, Ramkrishna Hegde, S R Bommai and Veerandra Patil, all lost power after visiting Chamarajanagara. Such was the fear that when Chamarajanagara was carved out as a separate district from neighbouring Mysuru, its inauguration by an supposedly ‘rationalist’ then CM of Karnataka J H patel was done from the safe confines of M M Hills.

So, last week when Prime Minister Modi addressed a rally in Santhemarahalli, on the outskirts of Chamarajanagara it set tongues wagging.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah taunted Modi that he is superstitious and thus chose not to enter the district but address a rally on the outskirts.

Siddaramaiah himself has visited the district 10 times since becoming the CM. BJP leaders say the location chosen for the rally had nothing to do with the alleged curse but because they wanted the PM to impact the adjoining Mandya and Mysuru districts too. Party leaders also claim that there was no ground big enough within the district.

Chamarajanagara borders Tamil Nadu and is known for its famed Male Madheswara Hills (notable for its Shivaite temple as well as being the occasional hideout for notorious dacoit Veerapan). Despite its proximity to Mysuru, the erstwhile capital of the state, Chamarajanagara is one of the more backward districts in the state.

Shunning Noida

Superstition has scared away successive Uttar Pradesh chief ministers from visiting Noida.

But last year, chief minister Yogi Adityanath braved the jinx to become the first chief minister in eight years to visit the town. Mayawati was the last chief minister, before Adityanath, to visit Noida. However, she lost the subsequent state assembly elections in 2012.

The Noida jinx, in the past, has caught up with several chief ministers, including Veer Bahadur Singh, Narayan Dutt Tiwari and Kalyan Singh.

Akhilesh Yadav played it safe and even inaugurated infrastructure projects in Noida through videoconferencing from Lucknow due to the jinx.