Maharashtra Chief Minister's Show Of Strength During Ayodhya Visit

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday reached Ayodhya on a day-long visit to pay obeisance to Lord Ram at the Ram temple.

Thousands of his supporters called ‘Shiv Sainiks' accompanied him.

“I am going to Ayodhya for darshan of Lord Ram. We have blessings of Lord Ram that is why 'dhanush-baan' (bow-arrow, elections symbol of Shiv Sena) is with us," Mr Shinde told reporters in Lucknow before leaving for Ayodhya.

He reached Ram Katha helipad and will be attending ‘Maha Aarti' at Ram temple and will also oversee the ongoing construction work of the temple and meet saints. He will attend ‘Maha Aarti' in the evening at the Saryu river bank.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Uttar Pradesh minister Swatantra Dev Singh were also seen accompanying Mr Shinde.

This is the first visit of Mr Shinde to Ayodhya after being sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra in June last year.

Thousands of Shiv Sainiks have also reached the city and almost all hotels, guest houses and dharamshalas in the temple town have been booked to accommodate Shiv Sena ministers, MPs and MLAs.

The Shiv Sena is planning to highlight Mr Shinde's visit to Ayodhya across the country.

Earlier, Mr Shinde had visited Ayodhya as a Shiv Sena leader on November 25, 2018, a year before the Supreme Court announced the verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute.

He also visited Ayodhya in March 2020 and June last year.

Talking about his visit to Ayodhya for the first time after becoming the chief minister, Mr Shinde said he was happy and satisfied to see the atmosphere here.

He expressed his gratitude to Uttar Pradesh ministers and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whom he will be meeting later in the day in Lucknow.

Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray wanted to see a grand Ram temple come up in Ayodhya, Mr Shinde had said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)