Special prayers at Chinnamastika temple for Droupadi Murmu's victory

Ramgarh (Jharkhand): Special prayers are being offered at the famed Chinnamastika temple at Rajrappa here, recognised as an ancient Shakti seat, on Thursday for the victory of Droupadi Murmu, the NDA presidential candidate who was Jharkhand's former governor.

Priests of the temple, which is located about 70 km from state capital on the confluence of Bhairavi and Damodar rivers, performed special 'aarti' for Murmu's victory.

The counting of votes polled in the July 18 presidential poll is on in Parliament and Murmu is billed to be the winner.

"We held special prayers with aarti of the deity and sought blessings for Droupadi Murmu's victory for the top constitutional post. It is a matter of pride that the nation is going to get a tribal woman as its president," a senior priest of the temple, Shubhashis Panda told PTI.

Ajay Panda, another senior priest said he along with the others in Ramgarh believe that Murmu is set to become the first tribal president and will visit the temple after her win to get the blessings of the deity in whom she has a strong belief. This will give the Chinnamastika temple the much needed boost in religious tourism as Murmu will be the first president to visit it.

Murmu had visited the Chinnamastika temple on several occasions during her gubernatorial stint in the state. Rajrappa temple is being developed as a global tourist destination at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore by state tourism department. Devotees from all corners of Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal visit this holy place throughout the year and about 4,000 to 5,000 devotees throng the temple on a daily basis. Their numbers double during religious festivals.