E-Paper
Adityanath powers Gujarat campaign with temple card
Adityanath connected the revamp of Somnath and Dwarkadhish temples in Gujarat with the construction of Ayodhya’s Ram temple and Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Corridor
LUCKNOW Chief minister Yogi Adityanath played the temple card to the hilt as he extensively campaigned for the BJP for the assembly election in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state (Gujarat).
Majority of the assembly constituencies where the saffron clad chief minister addressed rallies had some religious import. All rallies started with prayers though the bulldozer parked near the rally site gave a message of a tough administrator. He was welcomed with bulldozers and chants of ‘bulldozer baba’ in Gujarat’s Morbi.
Adityanath connected the revamp of Somnath and Dwarkadhish temples in Gujarat with the construction of Ayodhya’s Ram temple and Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.
Star campaigner for the saffron party, Adityanath launched the election campaign on November 23 by offering prayers at the Dwarkadhish temple before addressing a public meeting in the Dwarka assembly segment.
He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the restoration of Bet Dwarka, where a temple of Lord Krishna is being constructed after 5,000 years.
“Narendra Modi ji is the first Prime Minister of the country to visit Ayodhya to have ‘darshan’ of Ramlala. He also laid the foundation of the Ram temple. Devotees across the country will feel proud of the grand Ram temple and it will become a symbol of nation pride,” he said.
To strengthen the religious bond, the UP CM said: “There is an age old connection between UP and Gujarat. Lord Krishna was born in Mathura, and when he came to Gujarat, the people here made him Dwarkadish,” he said.
On November 26, Adityanath again launched the election campaign after prayers at the Somnath temple. Reminding people of the rath yatra launched by the BJP from Somnath for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, he said: “The Congress and Aam Adami Party (AAP) leaders were against the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya. Former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was against the reconstruction of Somnath temple. But due to efforts of Sardar Patel, the temple was reconstructed.”
The grand Kashi Vishwanath corridor has been constructed by the PM to restore the pride of the temple. “Had the Congress government been in power, the construction of Ram temple and KV Corridor would have been a distant dream for people. The BJP government in Gujarat has also renovated Ambaji temple in Banaskantha district,” he said.
SK Srivastava, a political observer, said: “Somnath and Dwarkadhish temples in Gujarat as well as Ram temple and Kashi Vishwanath temple in UP are revered by Hindus across the country. Both the religious spots are located in the Saurashtra-Kutch region of Gujarat, which accounts for 54 of the 182 assembly seats. Results in this region are crucial for political parties as they hold the key to the formation of the new government in Gujarat,” he said.
Yogi Adityanath has addressed 17 public meetings and participated in two road shows. Considered a poster boy of Hindutva, the BJP is trying to cash in on Adityanath’s popularity by organising rallies in the region. Saurashtra has several Nath sect temples and mutts to which Yogi Adityanath belongs.
Linking the renovation/construction of temples in Gujarat with that of UP, Yogi Adityanath sent a message to voters that the BJP government is working at pan-India level for the restoration of the legacy of Hindu religious spots, added Srivastava.
