The visit, however, turned controversial due to a rule that non-Hindus who visit the temple should declare their faith in the deity. While Jagan Reddy offered the silk clothes to the deity on September 23, it is still not clear if he made this declaration.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and other Sangh Parivar organisations latched on to this controversy to mount a campaign that sought to project Reddy, a Christian by faith, as anti-Hindu. The principal Opposition, the Telugu Desam Party, went after Reddy separately over the matter, with its chief Chandrababu Naidu claiming that violating traditions would not bode well for the state.

In this campaign against Reddy is a glimpse of the long-term strategy the Sangh Parivar seems to have devised for the southern state, where the BJP is still just a bit player.Importance of Tirupati

The Venkateshwara temple in Tirupati is one of the ancient temples in southern India dedicated to Vishnu. It is perhaps the most important religious place for the Vaishnavite sect after the Srirangam temple in Tamil Nadu and is one of the 108 divine abodes where the Vaishnavite medieval Bhakthi mystics, the Alwars, have sung poems in praise of the deity.