Radhan Pandit
Radhan Pandit is an Indian politician and astrologer. He was appointed as the Chief Minister’s Officer on Special Duty by chief minister C. Joseph Vijay on 12 May 2026 and later removed from office on 13 May 2026 within 36 hours after assuming office.
He has also served as a personal astrologer for two chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa and C. Joseph Vijay.
Career
Radhan has been practicing astrology and numerology since 1983, he claims to have predicted many accurate incidents in India especially Indian Government and major political leaders around the world. From 1996 to 1998, he became well known in Mumbai and worked with several prominent personalities, including Reserve Bank of India 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.
In 2008, Radhan moved to Delhi when he dropped his initial name “Pandit Vettrivel” and adopted the name “Radhan Pandit”. Due to astrology reasoning. He also claimed that he developed a relationship with senior leader LK Advani, who he describes as a mentor-like figure, and that he travelled across India and countries like Dubai and Sri Lanka.
Predicting J. Jayalalithaa's victory and downfall
During an interview, Radhan stated that he predicted former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa victory in the 1991 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election against M. Karunanidhi. He also warned her about a difficult phase between 1994 and 1997. During that time, she lost power and was arrested in December 1996. However, After that incident, Radhan became her personal astrologer. He claimed that he influenced her to change her name from "J Jayalalitha" to "J Jayalalithaa". Radhan and his relationship with Jayalalithaa became tough 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.
Prediction of Vijay's landslide victory
In 2024, Radhan publicly predicted that C. Joseph 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. After Vijay's inauguration as chief minister, he appointed Radhan on 12 May 2026 as Chief Minister’s Officer on Special Duty.
Removal from office
On 13 May 2026, after 36 hours of taking the role as Chief Minister’s Officer on Special Duty, Radhan was removed from his office by chief minister C. Joseph Vijay following an assembly meeting that afternoon where oppositions parties passed criticism remarks of Radhan taking up the office. During the assembly meeting politician Premalatha Vijayakanth and Sowmiya Anbumani also raised their concerns of Radhan being in office.
Controversies
After Radhan was appointed as Chief Minister’s Officer on Special Duty, many politicians and allies from the TVK-led Alliance opposed the decision. In a post on X, Indian National Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil said, "Beats me. Why would an astrologer require an OSD position ?? Can any one explain."
A comment from VCK general secretary D Ravikumar stated, "This is unacceptable in a secular government. The Honorable Chief Minister should reconsider this."