More than 2000 paramilitary and police personnel have been deployed in Faizabad district.
It's deja vu in Ayodhya, as another Vishwa Hindu Parishad yatra brings the RSS-affiliated outfit in direct confrontation with the Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh.
As it had done in August, the government has thrown a blanket of security across Ayodhya to ensure that the VHP is unable to defy its ban and hold its Sankalp Yatra, called to demand that parliament pass a law to build a Ram temple at the disputed Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi site in the town.
Police detained a host of leaders, including the BJP MP from Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath. Over 350 members of the VHP and the BJP have been arrested while 42 others have been placed under house arrest. 2000 jawans of the Rapid Action Force and the Provincial Armed Constabulary have been deployed to help the local police maintain law and order.
The administration's challenge is to ensure that ordinary citizens are not affected as they bathe in the Saryu river on the occasion of Sharad Poornima today, and they have so far ensured that life is normal.
In August this year, the UP government had banned the 84 kosi parikrama announced by the VHP to propagate its Ram temple agenda. It had, with massive security deployment and many arrests, quelled every move of the right-wing outfit to launch its programme, which had resulted in a day of high drama as VHP leaders and activists played hide and seek with the police, darting out of temples and ashrams to try and break security cordons.
The VHP has alleged that the Samajwadi Party government has banned its yatra to appease a particular community, and has vowed that it will not be stopped this time. The BJP has said the ban is "wrong and ridiculous" and part of the state government's "narrow vote bank politics."
The VHP is part of what is called the Sangh Parivar, headed by the Rashtriya Swayam Sevakk Sangh or RSS, which is also the ideological mentor of the BJP.
The RSS reportedly sees wisdom in resurrecting the Ram temple agenda as general elections draw closer. The attempt is for affiliated outfits to help consolidate the Hindu vote-bank for the BJP, while the political party pitches its development and good governance agenda under the stewardship of its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.
Mr Modi will begin his campaign in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow with a rally in Kanpur.