Meet ‘Bhopaji’, a well-known Ojha (exorcist) of this region. His followers attribute divine powers to him. They say Chamunda Devi — the Goddess much in news after the recent stampede at Chamunda Devi temple that left over 200 people dead in Jodhpur — atop a chariot enters his body and endows him with divine powers of healing.

Bhopaji boasts of an impressive list of VIP visitors, including former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Chief minister Vasundhara Raje, on a visit to this region, was impressed by the Ojha’s popularity and decided to field in the ensuing polls from Sirohi.

Ojha — his real name is Otaram Devasi — takes on a formidable Congress MLA Sanyam Lodha. The Congress candidate, having made it to the assembly consecutively in the last two elections, is looking for a hat-trick this time.

When the BJP announced that the Ojha, a greenhorn in politics, will take on the seasoned Congress politician, many eyebrows were raised. What was earlier dismissed as a risky gamble by Raje is now seen to be yielding good results for the BJP.

“Peoples’ faith in the divine powers of Ojha is very strong,” says a local resident Kailash Meena. The demographics of this region includes tribals in large numbers, most of whom are uneducated and believe in cult worship. That the Ojha himself is a tribal also goes in his favour in the electoral battle.

For the Meenas, the other major community here, Goddess Chamunda ranks high on their list of deities. The Ojha — real name Otaram Devasi — belongs to Devasi tribe and is the head priest at the Chamunda Devi temple in his native Mundara village in the adjoining Pali district. Congress supporters have been quick to seize on this fact and dub Otaram as an “outsider” to Sirohi. Such criticism may not cut much ice with the voters of Sirohi for Otaram, the Ojha is revered by people of both Sirohi and Pali.

In his regular sittings at the temple in Mundara, he draws huge crowds all through the year from both the districts.

People approach Otaram to help him get rid of ghosts and witches. “Agar maata ki sawaari aa jaaye to, Bhopaji (the exorcist) bada se bada bhoot bhaga dete hain,” (once Goddess Chamunda enters the body of Bhopaji, he can take away any kind of ghost) says Hari Singh from Mundara village.

Otaram too has been stoking the popular belief that he is blessed with divine powers. He says: “I am a nobody. I am just a medium for divine powers, for, it is Goddess Chamunda that motivates me to help people out of their troubles.”

Though a practitioner in “divine healing”, the exorcist knows only too well that grievances of the people also need a political touch. People need water, he says, adding, a politician holding out a promise, “Narmada waters have been brought to Jalaore, and, I want to make sure that water comes all the way to Sirohi now”.

The Congress candidate is banking on his years of hard work in the constituency. The public, says Sanyam, will support whoever has done good work for them. “I have delivered as an MLA and I’m sure people will re-elect me,” he says. Oatram’s political campaign, though, is having to contend with differences within the BJP. The party’s district chief, Vinod Parasrampuria, who was an aspirant for the party ticket, is reportedly not helping Otaram in campaigning.

Much as the uneducated tribals may queue up to Oatram to exorcise them of the spirits or ghosts, what he needs to do most is exorcise the ghost of internal bickerings within his own BJP.