Political Controversy: Astrology, Power, and Governance in Tamil Nadu

The air in the political arena always smells different, doesn’t it? Like ozone before a storm, or maybe just stale ambition. This time, it was thick with something entirely absurd.

So, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government made a move. A very specific, very strange move. They pulled the plug on something, actually. They withdrew the appointment of Vijay’s astrologer, Radhan Pandit Vettrivel , who had been slotted into the role of Officer on Special Duty (Political) for the Chief Minister. It happened after a significant backlash. Not just a little noise. Real noise, coming from the opposition, and even some allies.

It’s the kind of thing that makes you pause. You look at the mechanics of power, and suddenly you see something completely outside the established framework.

Vijay had made this appointment. Elevated Vettrivel.

And why? Because this astrologer, this man who supposedly reads the stars, was the one who had predicted the entire landslide victory in the assembly elections. A prediction. That’s the hook, isn’t it? The very foundation of the elevation rested on a celestial forecast.

But it wasn't just the prediction that caused the stir. Radhan Pandit wasn't just some mystic floating around. He was more. He was TVK’s spokesperson. He was a close aide to the leadership during the entire campaign. He was woven into the political fabric, or so it seemed.

That’s where the discomfort started. When Vijay made this elevation, it wasn’t just a bureaucratic shuffle. It was a declaration that felt deeply unsettling. It drew immediate, sharp eyebrows. Backlash from allies, and the opposition—it was everywhere.

Congress , VCK , and CPM all came out swinging. They didn't mince words. They slammed the TVK government for this move. It wasn't subtle maneuvering. It was a public confrontation about the very nature of governance.

Sasikanth Senthil , the Congress MP, took to X to voice the confusion. He just asked, “Beats me. Why would an astrologer require an OSD position? Can anyone explain this?” A simple question, loaded with disbelief. It cuts right to the core of what these moves are supposed to represent.

Meanwhile, the reaction from the left wing was equally strong. D Ravikumar , the VCK general secretary, was quite blunt. He called it unacceptable. He insisted that this happened in a secular government, and that the Chief Minister needed to reconsider. He pushed back hard on the idea. He suggested that the government’s duty was to foster a scientific outlook. He pointed directly at the situation. Ricky Radhan Pandit , who was now announced as the political wing secretary of the Chief Minister—a title that felt entirely misplaced—is fundamentally an astrologer.

Another voice from the VCK camp echoed this sentiment, demanding immediate action. They said the Tamil Nadu government needed to pull this unscientific appointment back. They argued it was against the Constitution.

Then you had the CPM ’s perspective coming in. Shanmugam P , a member of the Central Committee, brought up the cost and the principle. He argued that putting someone like this, an astrologer, into a government role, at government expense, only seemed to increase the public’s faith in astrology. He found the entire appointment unacceptable. Not just because of the prediction, but because the astrologer would now be providing political advice. That crossed a line, he felt.

The argument wasn’t just theoretical. It spilled into the political floor.

On May 13th, during the floor test in the Tamil Nadu assembly, VCK MLA Vanni Arasu made a direct, veiled dig. He looked straight at CM Vijay and said something that hung heavy in the air. He urged the government to focus on science, not astrology.

“Our government should give importance to scientific thinking and not astrology,” Arasu put it out there. It was a clear statement, a challenge tossed into the assembly chamber.

And the reaction from the DMDK side was equally vocal. Premalatha Vijayakanth , the DMDK General Secretary and MLA, didn't hold back. She called the entire appointment highly condemnable on behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu. It was a public condemnation, delivered right there.

The tension built up, didn’t it? Between the political expediency and the perceived reality of governance.

The Chief Minister himself was brought into the fray. When addressing the assembly at the end of the floor test, Vijay acknowledged the concerns. He said he would take into consideration what Premalatha had said about Radhan Pandit’s appointment. A concession, perhaps? A slight wobble in the carefully constructed narrative.

But the withdrawal came shortly after. Nearly an hour after Vijay’s statement, the government actually reversed course. They withdrew the astrologer’s appointment as the Officer on Special Duty (Political) to the Chief Minister.

It’s a messy thing, this political reality. It’s not neat. It’s not a straight line of cause and effect. It’s a tangle of predictions, outrage, constitutional arguments, and the sheer, messy human desire to believe in something real versus something convenient. The spotlight swung wildly. From celestial charts to constitutional mandates, and back again. The result is just… noise. A lot of noise.