UJJAIN: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar took part in the Bhasm Aarti' held at dawn on Sunday in the Mahakaleshwar Temple and then prayed at the Kalabhairava temple, both in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. Shivakumar said Hindutva, temples and gods were not the private property of the Bharatiya Janata Party and predicted a thumping victory for the Congress in the year-end MP Assembly polls.


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The 61-year-old Congress leader reached Mahakaleshwar temple before 4 am to take part in the 'Bhasm Aarti' and also meditated for some time in Nandi Hall. "Hindutva, temples or gods are not the property of any political party. They are for everyone. It is not the BJP's personal property. We believe in every section of society, every culture of the society, every language of the country and every religion," he said in reply to a query on his temple visits.



"This is the third or fourth time I am coming (to Mahakal Temple). I have come here during my difficult times. Before the Karnataka elections I had prayed to Mahakaleshwar and Kalabhairava for power. Now we have got power (in Karnataka)," he said. Shivakumar exuded confidence that the Congress will get more seats in the 230-member MP Assembly than the 135 seats his party won in Karnataka, which has a 224-member House.


He said the Congress strategy for MP polls was in place but he refused to divulge details. In the Assembly polls in the southern state in May, the Congress won 135 seats, unseating the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government. The BJP could manage only 66 seats.