Ayodhya 2.0: Old story, new actors ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections

The Ayodhya issue is unlikely to die out anytime soon with parties vying to appropriate majority sentiments in varying proportions to suit their political agendas

When Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray paid his maiden visit to Ayodhya last month, he announced that he would become a regular visitor to the temple town.

Hundreds of Shiv Sainiks were ferried aboard two special trains from Maharashtra for Thackeray’s two-day itinerary, which took in a public meeting and obeisance to the makeshift Ramlala temple on the grounds of the demolished Babri Masjid.

This special trip by the head of a regional party to Ground Zero of Hindutva politics was symptomatic of the political power play around the Ayodhya issue in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.