Vijay names his astrologer as OSD: Who is Radhan Pandit Vetrivel?

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With actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) officially naming astrologer Rickey Radhan Pandit Vetrivel as the Chief Minister’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD), the party has introduced into its internal framework a personality long connected with political astrology, numerology and influential forecasts within Tamil Nadu’s political circles.

Born as Vetrivel in Erode, the astrologer once included former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa among his notable clients. Their association, however, reportedly deteriorated after one of his most significant predictions failed spectacularly.

Vetrivel had allegedly assured Jayalalithaa that she would escape imprisonment in the disproportionate assets case. But in September 2014, she was incarcerated following the judgement, leading to a fallout between the two. Shortly afterwards, according to individuals familiar with the matter, Jayalalithaa ceased consulting him, and Vetrivel relocated to Singapore.

It was during this period that Vetrivel underwent a transformation. Taking on the name “Radhan Pandit Vetrivel” — one carrying a clearly North Indian tone — he sought to expand both his visibility and influence among a broader Indian diaspora clientele. Though Tamil and originally from Erode, with an apartment in Chennai, the astrologer spent time in Singapore and later Delhi, where associates say the reinvention was motivated partly by astrological reasons and partly by ambition for broader legitimacy.

According to sources, it was after his return from Delhi that Vetrivel was brought into Vijay’s political network through an intermediary. His influence within the actor’s developing political ecosystem soon became apparent. Pandit was the astrologer who advised Vijay to contest from a constituency beginning with the letter “V”, a detail previously reported by The Indian Express. During the election period, he also appeared in several YouTube interviews forecasting a favourable political ascent for Vijay and the TVK.

Tamil Nadu politics has historically sustained a complicated association with astrology and numerology, with leaders across party lines often privately consulting astrologers. But Vetrivel’s elevation represents a rare, perhaps unprecedented, formalisation of that relationship.