Prateek Tanmay
3 min readBengaluruJul 13, 2026 09:42 PM IST
A day after Chief Minister D K Shivakumar announced a proposal to allow lawmakers and other visiting dignitaries from Karnataka to participate in the first aarti at the Tirupati temple, a Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust member has rejected it as a unilateral proposal.
The first aarti at the temple in Andhra Pradesh is called Tirumala Nitya Aarathi. It is offered to the presiding deity of Lord Venkateswara in the sanctum in the presence of monks, special representatives, the head priest, and a special officer representing the Maharaja of Mysore, who has historical connections to the temple.
On Monday, TTD trust member G Bhanuprakash Reddy urged Shivakumar not to “do politics” over the temple ritual. He said in a video statement, “Yesterday D K Shivakumar ji said he is planning to introduce a new proposal to allow MLAs, ministers and officers to attend the Mangal Arathi. This is not right. These privileges were granted to the Mysore Maharaja. They are not for you, your cabinet, or your MLAs. You withdraw your words. This is a spiritual place; don’t make it a political arena. I will raise the issue before the board meeting, which will be held tomorrow.”
Reddy also said that if Karnataka’s demand was accepted, other states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala would also make similar demands. “We will pass a resolution opposing the proposal,” he said.
Shivakumar said in Bengaluru on Sunday that “the first aarti performed daily at Tirupati belongs to Karnataka”. “Only the chief minister had that privilege till now. On a daily basis, the aarti was witnessed by a special officer of the Karnataka government in Tirupati. I have instructed officials to issue an order to extend this privilege to any dignitary who visits—be it ministers, MLAs, senior officials, judges, or anyone representing the government,” he added.
S M Krishna’s Karnataka trust at Tirupati
Shivakumar said that many MLAs had returned from Tirupati without getting a darshan, and that now they would be given the opportunity to stand before the deity and receive the aarti. He added the opportunity would now be provided so that those serving the state could pray to God. “This is the major announcement that will happen during my tenure,” he said.
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“Ever since I was released from jail, our family deity had not been taken to Tirupati. During my recent visit, I thought about this. S M Krishna had formed a Karnataka trust at Tirupati with the intention of building a grand structure. But our government’s term ended before that could be done. Since I didn’t continue, that work couldn’t be carried out. There was a seven-acre plot there, granted back in the era of the maharajas,” he added.
