- Vijay appointed astrologer Rickey Radhan Pandit Vettrivel as Chief Minister's OSD in Tamil Nadu
- Vettrivel predicted Vijay's tsunami victory and advised changing the swearing-in time to 10 am
- Vettrivel has 40 years of experience and served as a personal astrologer to J Jayalalithaa
Actor-turned-politician Vijay has appointed astrologer Rickey Radhan Pandit Vetrivel as the Chief Minister's Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Tamil Nadu government
Reeta Harish Thakkar, principal secretary to TVK, said, "Thiru Rickey Radhan Pandit Vettrivel is appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Chief Minister (Political) with effect from the date of joining. The terms and conditions in this regard will be issued separately."
Pandit Vettrivel is believed to have predicted a “tsunami victory” for Vijay ahead of polls. Earlier, Vijay planned his swearing-in ceremony for May 10 at 3:45 pm, but later rescheduled for 10 am. According to reports, this change was suggested by Vettrivel, who said the new time was more "auspicious".
Who is Rickey Radhan Pandit Vetrivel?
Vettrivel was born in Erode, Tamil Nadu, and works as an astrologer. He has over four decades of experience in Vedic astrology, meditation-based guidance and numerology. At one point, he even had high-profile clients, including former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Vettrivel's relation with J Jayalalithaa
He claims he predicted Jayalalithaa's victory in the 1991 elections and also warned her about a difficult phase between 1994 and 1997. During that time, she lost power and was arrested in December 1996.
After the incident, Vettrivel became her personal astrologer. He claimed that he influenced her to change her name from "J Jayalalitha" to "J Jayalalithaa".
According to reports, his relationship with Jayalalithaa became strained after a major prediction went wrong. He had reportedly told her that she would not go to jail in a disproportionate assets case.
But in September 2014, the court verdict went against her and she was sent to jail. After this, she stopped consulting him, and their professional relationship ended.
Vettrivels' clients
He claims that between 1996 and 1998 he became well known in Mumbai and worked with several prominent personalities, including Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Jagathish Kapoor, GIC Chairman Sengupta, IDBI Chairman Chakravarthy, advocate Girish Gokhale, a Mumbai High Court judge, actress Manisha Koirala, Tea Board Chairman Shom Shekhar, and Payal Abdullah, wife of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, including advising on her son's birth time.
Vettrivel's Delhi visit
In 2008, he moved to Delhi when he dropped the name “Pandit Vettrivel” and adopted the name “Radhan Pandit”. He says he became successful in Delhi even without knowing Hindi and conducted astrology consultations in English.
He further claims that he developed a relationship with senior leader LK Advani, whom he describes as a mentor-like figure, and that he travelled across India and countries like Dubai and Sri Lanka.
Vettrivel's prediction related to Vijay
After returning from Delhi, Vettrivel was reportedly introduced into the political circle of Vijay. In 2024, Vettrivel publicly predicted that Vijay would emerge as a major political force in Tamil Nadu. One of the claims is that he suggested Vijay should contest from a constituency starting with the letter “V”, which was seen as an “auspicious” choice.
During the election period, he also appeared in several YouTube interviews, where he predicted that Vijay and his party would see a strong political rise.
