PHOTOS: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar treks Sabarimala, offers prayers to Lord Ayyappa

Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar offered prayers at the revered Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala. 

The minister had reached Pathanamthitta in the evening after filling his 'Irumudikkettu' (the traditional bundle) from the Ayyappa temple in Bengaluru.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar trekked the hills on Thursday morning from Pamba. He trekked the hill all the way to the Sannidhanam (temple premises) on foot. 

Along with thousands of devotees, the Union Minister climbed the hill and stepped on the 'Pathinettam Padi' (18th step) to reach the Sannidhanam.

The Union Minister took to Twitter to share that this was his 26th trip to the Sabarimala shrine but the first after becoming a minister. 

Rajeev Chandrasekhar reached Kochi later in the evening and returned to New Delhi from Nedumbassery airport.

The Lord Ayyappa Temple witnessed a heavy rush of devotees on Wednesday when it opened for special pujas and rituals to mark the beginning of Chingam, the auspicious Malayalam month.

When 'Melsanthi' (chief priest) N Parameshwaran Namboothiri opened the portals of the sanctum sanctorum and lit the lamp under the guidance of 'Thantri' (head priest) Kandari Rajeevaru, the 'Sannidhanam' reverberated with the holy Ayyappa chants. On Wednesday, "Laksharchana", a special ritual, was held at the shrine besides the customary pujas. 

The devotees were allowed to trek the holy hills and climb the 18 sacred steps to offer prayers before the main deity-Lord Ayyappa on Tuesday evening. The shrine would remain open for five days till August 21. Rituals like 'Udayasthamaya Puja', 'Kalabhabhishekam', 'Padipuja', 'Ashtabhishekam', and so on would be held all these days.