Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, actors Darshan, Dali Dhananjaya among visitors at Chamundi hill temple on second Ashada Friday

MYSURU: On the second Friday of the Hindu calendar month of Ashada, a string of celebrities and political leaders visited the Chamundi temple atop Chamundi Hills here and offered prayers. The temple was decorated with flowers, Totapuri mangoes, lotuses and maize cobs.

Actor Darshan, along with his wife Vijayalakshmi and brother Dinakar offered prayers at the temple. His manager Naga alias Nagaraj, however, did not accompany the family and instead visited the temple later. Nagaraj, who is accused No. 11 in the Renukaswamy murder case, has maintained distance from Darshan after his release from jail on bail.

Actor Dali Dhananjaya also visited the temple along with his wife Dhanyatha also visited the temple. Many fans of the actor queued up to get photos clicked with him. Other actors who visited the temple included Dhanveer, Chikkanna and Kuri Pratap. The temple saw a rush of devotees right from the morning.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar also visited the temple along with his family members. After symbolically breaking coconuts outside the temple, he spoke to media persons and said, “Even if efforts fail, prayers won’t, and I believe in this. I have prayed for whatever I wanted”.

To a question on whether he was out of the race for the chief minister’s post, Shivakumar said, “Let’s not have any discussion now, I have not come here to talk politics. We will go as per the advice of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge”.

Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy said, “I prayed for adequate rainfall so that we can transport food to other regions too and let the goddess bless our farmers”. Former MLC Suraj Revanna and his father and former minister H D Revanna were also among those who visited the temple and offered prayers.