Samajwadi Party (SP) president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is set to visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya for the first time since its consecration in January 2024.
SP leader and former state minister Tej Narayan Pandey confirmed Akhilesh's plans, saying the party chief would visit the temple on December 12 along with his wife, Dimple Yadav, and their children. Pandey will also accompany the family on the visit.
“The SP national president Akhilesh Ji, along with his family, will first visit Hanumangarhi and then the Ram Temple. I will also be with them,” Pandey told the Hindustan Times.
Akhilesh's proposed visit to Ayodhya assumes significance as it comes months ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with the SP looking to unseat the BJP government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The BJP, meanwhile, termed Akhilesh's planned visit politically motivated and said he should have visited the temple out of devotion.
BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said those who had ordered firing on Ram devotees and those who had promised to construct a Babri Masjid were now being compelled to visit the Ram Temple.
“It would have been good if he had done this with devotion, but just because of polls, he's doing it. Ram Bhakts won't forgive him for his sins,” he said.
Political observers, according to the HT report, believe the visit could be seen as a deliberate attempt to counter the BJP's narrative that the SP and its leaders are “anti-Hindu”.
With the Assembly elections approaching, Akhilesh has stepped up efforts to reach out to Hindu voters through public engagements with religious sites and leaders.
