The political battle over the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has intensified ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with the BJP preparing to target Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over his party’s past position on the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and the 1990 police firing on kar sevaks.
Akhilesh Yadav is scheduled to visit the Ram Temple on December 12 along with his wife Dimple Yadav and other family members. The proposed visit will be his first to the newly constructed Ram Temple since its consecration in January 2024. According to the announcement made by senior SP leader Pawan Pandey, the family will first offer prayers at Hanumangarhi before visiting the Ram Temple to seek the blessings of Ram Lalla. He is also expected to meet saints in Ayodhya.
The announcement has triggered a sharp political response from the BJP. Uttar Pradesh BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary has challenged Akhilesh to visit the temple on December 6 instead of December 12 and apologise for the deaths of kar sevaks during the tenure of his father, former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The reference is to the police firing in Ayodhya in 1990, when security forces opened fire on kar sevaks during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Mulayam Singh Yadav was the chief minister at the time. The incident remains one of the most politically sensitive chapters in Uttar Pradesh's history.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also questioned the Samajwadi Party's position, saying that those responsible for firing on Ram devotees should seek forgiveness before visiting the temple. Other BJP leaders have accused Akhilesh of invoking religious sentiments for electoral gains.
The controversy has grown further after two Samajwadi Party MPs, Sanatan Pandey and Ramashankar Rajbhar, defended the 1990 police action. They argued that Mulayam Singh Yadav had acted according to the Constitution and his responsibility to maintain law and order. Their remarks have drawn criticism from BJP leaders and supporters of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Akhilesh, however, has sought to turn the political debate towards alleged irregularities in the collection and management of donations for the Ram Temple. He has repeatedly raised questions over what his party describes as donation-related irregularities and demanded transparency.
With the Assembly elections approaching in 2027, Ayodhya is once again emerging as a major political battleground. Akhilesh's proposed visit could become a significant test of the Samajwadi Party's strategy on religion, identity and electoral politics, while the BJP appears determined to keep the events of 1990 at the centre of the campaign.
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