Explainer: A 'promise fulfilled'—will Ram Mandir work political magic for BJP in 2024

Tribune News Service

Vibha Sharma

Chandigarh, November 11 

The annual ‘Deepotsav’ festivities at Ayodhya—Shri Ram Janmabhoomi—are becoming bigger and grander with each passing year. This event this year had an additional feature—an online option to help Ram bhakts from far-off places to illuminate a ‘diya’ in Ayodhya.  

Apart from a high-profile guest list, the event, which has become a focal point of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath government, also had the target to create a new record—as many as 24 lakh ‘diyas’ along 51 ghats of the Saryu.

In 2022, around 16 lakh ‘diyas’ were lit during Deepotsav, also a record. 

‘Deepotsav’—important feature of Adityanath tenure

Over the years, the event has also become synonymous with Adityanath, his government since 2017, and also his politics. Observers believe it to be his individual pitch for higher echelons in politics.

Besides the magnificent optics of lakhs of ‘diyas’ illuminating Saryu ‘ghats’, cultural programmes are also organised on the day to mark Lord Ram’s return home.

The 2023 ‘Deepotsav’ is also last before the inauguration of the Ram Temple on January 22 and the general election in 2024. 

Ram temple, important pillar of saffron politics  

To build a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya has been the BJP’s poll plank for decades. The consecration/'pran pratishtha’ at the ‘janmasthan’ next year is something that the saffron party hopes will be a "proof" that it was a party that fulfills promises, in this case the ‘mandir wahin banayenge’ pledge.  

Sources say the ‘mandir wahin banayenge’ promise is one of the key themes of the saffron party’s 2024 election campaign. In fact, Ram temple at his 'janmasthan' along with the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir are expected to feature among the top achievements of the Narendra Modi government in the BJP’s 2024 manifesto. 

Though the ceremony to mark the completion of the temple, which became one of the instruments for the BJP’s rise to power, will be “non-political”. 

 “Guests from different political parties will be invited, provided they have the intention to come. There will be no stage or a public meeting. The trust is planning to invite over 25,000 Hindu religious leaders for the ceremony. A list is being prepared for invitation letters with the signature of trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das,” general secretary of the Trust Champat Rai was quoted as saying around September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will preside at the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22.

The BJP is leaving no stone unturned to make the event grander than ever.

A couple of days back, Adityanath and his cabinet colleagues gathered for the “first executive body meeting of the state in the holy city”, according to reports.

The city is being “completely transformed” for the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony for which lakhs of devotees are expected.

Ram Temple—the promise

The promise of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya has been a part of the BJP’s election manifesto since 1996.

It was also part of the pre-election document the party released in April 2019.

In November 2019, a five-judge Supreme Court bench led by then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi ruled in favour of Ramlalla and said that the entire disputed land would be handed over to a Trust which would monitor the construction.

The judgment affirmed that the disputed land was the birthplace of Lord Rama as per the faith and belief of Hindus, and that the Babri Masjid was built after the demolition of a Hindu temple.

In February 2020, PM Modi announced the constitution of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra to oversee the construction. The ‘bhoomi pujan’ was performed by PM Modi on August 5, 2020.

The months since then have seen the temple city of Ayodhya on the banks of the Saryu transform into a major religious, tourist and economic hub.

Hospitality majors from India and abroad have evinced interest in the city where the number of pilgrims is rising by the day. With the opening of hotels and guesthouses, tourism activities in the once laidback town will go up further like in Varanasi. The Sriram International Airport will further boost the inflow of overseas tourists.

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