Deepotsav emerges as stamp of Yogi’s Hindutva pitch

When Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath visits Ayodhya to participate in Deepotsav celebrations on Wednesday, he will not only fulfil his personal commitment to the temple town, he will also set the pitch for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to regain the political ground it lost in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
This will be the eighth Deepotsav his government will be hosting after he took over the reins of the state in 2017. It will also be the first Deepotsav after the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla in the grand Ram Janmabhoomi temple in January this year.
The Yogi government has made preparations for grand Deepotsav celebrations in Ayodhya. The personal commitment of Yogi Adityanath for the construction of Ram temple and development of Ayodhya is associated with the role played by the Gorakhnath Mutt in the Ram temple movement.
As the mahant (head priest) of the mutt, he spearheaded the movement after his mentor Mahant Avaidyanath, who had constituted Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mukti Yagya Samiti in 1984 to mobilise Hindu organisations and seers for the construction of Ram temple, handed him the baton in the mid nineties.
Adityanath proved his mettle by mobilising seers, head of various Hindu religious peeths and scholars from across the country in the meetings organised by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mukti Yagna Samiti in Gorakhpur.
Impressed by the capabilities and diligence of Yogi Adityanath, Mahant Avaidyanath appointed him his successor in 1996. Soon, he established himself as firebrand Hindutva leader.
In the 1998 Lok Sabha election, Adityanath secured victory from Gorakhpur seat that he represented in Lok Sabha for five terms. He raised the Ram temple as well as Hindutva issues on the floor of the house.
He organised Vishwa Hindu Mahasammelan and Virat Hindu Sangam in Gorakhpur and adjoining districts to give momentum to the Ram temple movement.
After becoming CM on March 19, 2017, Yogi Adityanath made several trips to Ayodhya and announced launch of the development projects, bringing Ram temple at the centre stage of the country’s politics. On November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court gave verdict in favour of the Ram temple. Yogi accompanied PM Narendra Modi to Ayodhya to lay the foundation stone of the temple on August 5, 2020.
The BJP reaped political dividends in the 2019 Lok Sabha and the 2022 UP assembly polls by retaining power both at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh. After becoming the CM for the second successive term in 2022, Yogi Adityanath gave momentum to the development of Ayodhya by launching a slew of development projects.
Before Ram Lalla was enthroned at the sanctum-sanctorum of the Ram temple in January this year, the Yogi government organised grand Deepotsav celebrations in Ayodhya in November 2023 by illuminating 21 lakh earthen lamps.
The 2024 Lok Sabha election proved a major setback for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP seats decreased from 62 in the 2019 general election to 33 in the 2024 polls. The defeat of the party candidate from Faizabad seat in which Ayodhya is located proved to be a major blow to the saffron brigade.
Unfazed by the party’s underperformance in the 2024 LS polls in the state, Yogi Adityanath is working to regain the lost ground. After defeat in Ayodhya, the BJP cadre looked dejected.
To rejuvenate the workers for the next battle—bypolls to Milkipur assembly seat located in Ayodhya district as well as Katehri in neighbouring Ambedkar Nagar district, Yogi has planned to set the pitch for the next electoral battle— bypoll as well as 2027 assembly election—by holding a grand Deepotsav in Ayodhya.
“The people from all communities- Dalits, tribals, OBC as well as upper castes will participate in the various cultural programmes to send a message of unity among the Hindu community on which the BJP is working to regain the lost ground post 2024 Lok Sabha election,” said a BJP leader.
Speaking in a programme on Tuesday, PM Narendra Modi said, “This year’s Diwali is special as Lord Ram is seated in his grand temple, the newly built Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya. This year’s Diwali is particularly special. After 500 years, Lord Ram is seated in his grand temple in Ayodhya and this will be the first Diwali celebrated with him in his magnificent temple.”