Ram Temple: The significance of Yogi Adityanath's visit to Ayodhya today

The court case against Advani and others is Sangh Parivar's cause celebre for 2019

A day after a special CBI court ordered framing of charges against senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar, Uma Bharti and nine others, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today offered prayers at the makeshift Ram temple in Ayodhya. This was his first visit to the temple town after he was sworn in as the state chief minister of the state on 19 March.

Accompanying Adityanath was Dharam Das, one of the 12 against whom the court ordered yesterday that conspiracy charges be framed in the 6 December, 1992 razing of the Babri mosque.

According to a Press Trust of India report from Ayodhya, Adityanath spent around 30 minutes at the makeshift temple in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid complex. He later also offered payers on the banks of the Saryu River.

While the 19 April Supreme Court order to restore charges of criminal conspiracy against the 12 has been interpreted as a jolt to the presidential ambitions of Advani and Joshi, it was evident by Tuesday’s events in Lucknow that the Sangh Parivar hopes to take the opportunity of regular hearings in the case to bring the issue of Ram temple back in the forefront of political discourse in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Although, legally framing

As BJP chief Amit Shah travels the country to try spread BJP’s footprint in its weaker areas in the east, northeast and southern Indian states, the challenge for his party is also to hold on to the success it had in the Hindi heartland in 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

In 2014, the BJP had maximized its victories in its traditional catchment area. Of a total of 211 seats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the BJP and its allies lost only 19 seats. They won a huge 191 seats in these six states.

BJP strategists believe that the party might struggle to repeat its 2014 performance in these states in the absence of an emotive issue around election time against a united Opposition, particularly the possibility of facing a ‘grand alliance’ in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which together send 120 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

This is where Adityanath’s visit to Ayodhya today and developments in Lucknow yesterday were significant.

Yesterday, Adityanath was there to receive Advani at the gate of the VVIP guest house of Lucknow where the senior leader was to be briefed by lawyers before going to the court. Also waiting for Advani at the guest house was Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh number three Krishna Gopal. At the airport, BJP state unit chief and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya had received Advani. Later, Joshi, Bharti and others also reached the guest house. Several UP cabinet ministers were also present, as were all legislators from Bharti’s Lok Sabha constituency Jhansi to receive her.

Vishva Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, BJP and Sangh Parivar cadres were present both outside the guest house and court premises, where they continuously shouted slogans of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and ‘mandir wahin banyenge’. The long cavalcade of vehicles left for the court, with Advani’s vehicle in front.

While the BJP is yet to announce its presidential candidate, party sources also point out that the framing of charges against Advani and Joshi does not bar them from contesting the presidential polls. If elected, the two will have immunity from prosecution, as is the case with current Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh.

But the Ram temple issue is more of a cause celebre for the Sangh Parivar. The Supreme Court has ordered that the hearings should be completed within two years. This will coincide with the 2019 Lok Sabha polls that are slated for April-May 2019.