Weird superstitions of Karnataka politicians

Vicky Nanjappa reports on the strange practices that politicians adopt before they file their nomination papers

Superstitions always seem to leave a mark in Indian politics. And that's no exception in the case of poll-bound Karnataka.

Many candidates have been rushing to file their nomination papers on Monday following astrologers' advice that today happens to be a very auspicious day to do so.

Coverage: Battleground Karnataka

Also, most leaders will use either blue or green ink pens to file their nomination papers.

That's not all. There are other stranger acts.

Many Congress leaders would never use a black ink pen to file their nomination papers. They would also wear four layers of clothes while doing so.

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BJP leaders consult at least four to five astrologers and depend a lot of vaastu shastra before filing their nomination papers.

A common thing noticed is that these leaders always point their nomination papers North before filing their papers.

There is also a BJP leader who always wears a fur hat before he files his nomination.

Some leaders from B S Yeddyurappa's Karnataka Janata Party have decided to wear clothes which match the colour of their birth stone before filing their nominations.

Yeddyurappa himself has been famous for visiting several temples before he files his nomination.

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Then there some leaders who leave very early in the morning to either campaign or file their nomination papers. They do not mind waiting for a couple of hours. They do want to get stuck in traffic as they feel that a red signal means bad luck.

The Deve Gowda family is all about numerology.

Five is considered to be a lucky number for Deve Gowda. The first list announced had 122 names, adding up to five.

Gowda's son, H D Revanna wears a gold chain around his neck and also his waist before filing the nomination for good luck.