Uddhav set to visit Ayodhya, perform aarti on March 7

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s will visit Ayodhya on March 7.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s will visit Ayodhya on March 7.

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Thackeray will offer prayers to Lord Ram in the afternoon and participate in the ‘maha aarti’ on the banks of river Sarayu in the evening, Shiv Sena member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Raut announced on Saturday.

He confirmed that several senior Sena leaders will also be part of the delegation.

Raut took to social media and urged people to participate in the “historic gathering” called ‘Chalo Ayodhya’ along with the CM. Last month, Raut had said that the visit would take place after Thackeray completed 100 days as CM following his swearing-in on November 28, 2019.

Shiv Sena has always identified with the Hindutva agenda, a point that became a stumbling block while forming the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress in the state. However, time and again, senior leaders from all three parties have maintained that the state government will run within the framework of the Constitution, and based on the common minimum program decided by the three parties.

Subhash Desai, Sharad Pawar, and Balasaheb Thorat on Saturday reiterated that MVA follows the CMP strictly. Shiv Sena meanwhile continues to maintain its pro-Hindutva standing within the alliance and has expressed support for the Centre’s plans to build a Ram temple at Ayodhya.