Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified that his visit to Ayodhya, along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, was not linked to elections. The two leaders visited Ayodhya to pay obeisance to Lord Ram at the Ram temple before heading to Delhi for the BJP’s Central Election Committee meeting. Thousands of Shiv Sainiks accompanied Mr Shinde on his first visit to Ayodhya after being sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra in June last year. The Shiv Sena plans to highlight Mr Shinde’s visit to Ayodhya across the country.
The Shiv Sena has always been a strong proponent of Hindutva ideology and has actively campaigned for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Bal Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena, had a longstanding dream of seeing a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. His son Uddhav Thackeray, who is the current Chief Minister of Maharashtra, has also visited Ayodhya and actively supported the construction of the Ram temple. In 2019, Eknath Shinde had rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray and walked out of the party with 39 MLAs, accusing him of compromising on Shiv Sena’s core ideals of Hindutva. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which Uddhav Thackeray had formed along with former rivals Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, fell after Mr. Shinde’s exit. Later, the BJP formed the government in Maharashtra with the support of NCP and others.