Hindu Akharas in Ayodhya divided over BJP and Akhilesh Yadav

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Faizabad/Ayodhya, February 26

A day before the crucial phase V of the marathon Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections on Monday, it appears to be anyone’s game in the critical Faizabad district.

The locals predict a 3:2 in favour of the BJP or the SP-Congress combine for the five constituencies in the district. The higher figure (3) depending upon the side of the fence the prophecy is coming from.  

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In Ayodhya, BJP’s Ved Prakash Gupta is trying to wrest power from Samajwadi Party’s sitting MLA Tej Narayan Pandey, aka Pawan Pandey. 

However, it is not an easy task for either of the two.

Pandey’s problems are magnified by the possibility of a division in Muslim voters between his party and the BSP, which has fielded a young minority candidate Bazmi Siddiqui.

Gupta appears to be facing similar issues with the traditional Hindu vote bank.

There are deep divisions among powerful Akharas (organisations) representing saints and holding sway over thousands here, whether to support to the BJP or the incumbent Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Mahant (priest) Gyan Das of the Hanuman Garhi temple is well known for his anti-Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) stance.

In these elections, he has not only been openly supporting Akhilesh for “all the good work in UP” but also predicts that “young Akhilesh will be the next Chief Minister, even if it is with outside support”.

The question on which “outside support” he smiles away, just like the perception that Akhilesh may have done much better without the Congress.

Completely backing the “sakaratmak(positive) yuva shakti” of Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi, Mahant Gyan Das, who till recently was also known for his anti-Congress stance, calls them the ‘ugta suraj’ (rising suns) of  India”.

Perhaps Rahul’s visit to the Hanuman Garhi last year, the first by any member of the Gandhi family to Ayodhya since the demolition of the disputed structure in 1992, has done the trick.

Significantly, not everyone in the “sant samaj” conforms to the belief held by the former head of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (All India Akhara Council)  

Supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP is Nirmohi Akhara, an important section which also happens to be one of plaintiffs in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.  

Its ailing chief Mahant Bhaskar Das is in no condition to comment on prevailing politics but “utradhikari” (successor) Mahant Ram Das is quite scathing when it comes to “Gyan Das jaise sants jo Akhilesh ki sharan main chale gye hain. ”  

“Should a Sadhu go to a politician? By doing so he has undermined all of us. It is the politicians who should come to us. Sants should do ‘sadhna’ not politics,” says Mahant Ram Das, referring to Mahant Gyan Das’s visit to Akhilesh’s office in Lucknow.

Contradicting Mahant Gyan Das’s point that “Akhilesh has done more for Ayodhya during his stint as the CM than all political parties professing Hindutva” Mahant Ram Das says he supports the BJP because of his faith in the  Prime Minister and his intentions, including on the Ram Janmabhoomi issue.

“Even if he has not come here since assuming office, Ram Janmabhoomi remains a matter of faith for him. He believes in resolution, not dispute.

“Modijee is honest, there are no corruption charges against him and he believes in ‘sabka saath sabka vikaas’, welfare of all communities unlike Akhilesh and SP for whom only a Muslim ki beti is a beti. The Prime Minister has good intentions for everyone in his heart”

Predicting “around 200” of the 403 UP’ seats for the BJP, Mahant Ram Das claims “the saffron party will form the next government in UP primarily because of Modijee’s image, popularity and people’s faith in him”.

Also a huge supporter of his demonetisation move, Mahant Ram Das says only with a BJP government in UP, the Prime Minister will be able to “change the bhagya (future) of the long-neglected state.

Akhilesh is a weak Chief Minister. He could not even deliver on the promise on development of Ayodhya”

Mahant Gyan Das claims “a personal liking” for Modi and also Amit Shah but adds that only “Akhilesh and Rahul can bring a change here”. 

“UP needs a ‘mridubhashi’ (soft -spoken), young and dynamic Chief Minister like Akhilesh.  Modi in the Centre and Akhilesh in UP is ideal situation for the state.

“The reason is Modijee cannot become the UP Chief Minister just like Akhilesh cannot be the Prime Minister, maybe in future but not now. Akhilesh will head the next government in the state even if it is with some outside support”.

In the 2012 polls, out of five assembly seats in Faizabad—Ayodhya, Milkipur, Goshaiganj, Rudauli, Bikapur—four were wrested by the Samajwadi Party with the BJP holding only Rudauli.

Much to the embarrassment of the saffron party, it lost prestigious Ayodhya seat to Pawan Panday of the Samajwadi Party.