2 million followers, just 33 votes: Rajasthan astro-influencer’s poll shock
Lead Dispatch: 2 million followers, just 33 votes: Rajasthan astro-influencer’s poll shock
In a startling twist that has sent ripples through the world of digital influence, Omprakash Bishnoi—an astrologer with a following that exceeds two million across Instagram, Facebook and YouTube—lost the sarpanch election in the Jodhpur village of Indon Ki Dhani‑II by a margin that reduced his vote count to a mere 33 out of 1,600 eligible voters. The outcome underscores a growing disjunction between online popularity and grassroots political capital in rural India.
Bishnoi, who also serves as the president of a local cow‑shelter, entered the race with the expectation that his celebrity status would translate into electoral success, a hypothesis that the ballot results have decisively refuted. Key Context & Background Astrology has long occupied a privileged niche in Rajasthan’s cultural fabric, where village elders and farmers routinely consult horoscopes before making agricultural and personal decisions.
