Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday indicated that he would visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya next month, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Former Ayodhya MLA Pawan Pandey had announced on November 7 that Yadav would visit Ayodhya on December 12, triggering a political exchange between the Samajwadi Party and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh.Asked about the visit, Yadav told reporters in a tongue-in-cheek response: "As for the date, our Pawan Pandey has consulted with many members of the Brahmin community, examined the planets (nakshatras), and drawing upon knowledge of astronomy, has determined a specific date and time, taking into account the positions of the Sun and the Moon."According to Pandey, Yadav and his wife, Dimple Yadav, who is also an MP, will visit the Ram Temple and the Hanumangarhi Temple. This would be Yadav's first visit to the Ram Temple since it was inaugurated in January 2024.
He last visited Ayodhya in October 2026 to attend a religious katha but did not go to the temple.The BJP has criticised Yadav for not visiting the Ram Temple, alleging that his decision was driven by "appeasement politics". Yadav, in turn, has accused the BJP and organisations linked to the Sangh of "chanda chori", or misappropriation of donations, at the temple.
There has also been speculation that Yadav is adopting a "soft Hindutva" approach to counter the BJP. The ruling party has repeatedly referred to the police firing on kar sevaks in Ayodhya in the 1990s, when an SP government led by Mulayam Singh Yadav was in power.Yadav had earlier responded to questions about visiting the temple by saying he would do so only after the Kedareshwar Dham, a project started by his government in Etawah, was completed.Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Saturday that "those who fired on Ram devotees, subjected saints to lathicharge" should visit the Ram Temple only after apologising.UP BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary repeated the demand on Tuesday. "If this is not a new political ploy in the name of Lord Ram but genuine repentance, then visit the Ram temple on December 6, not 12," Chaudhary, who is also a Union minister, said on X, according to PTI.The Babri Masjid, which stood at the site where the temple is located, was demolished by kar sevaks led by the Vishva Hindu Parishad on December 6, 1992.Yadav's proposed December 12 visit, his first to the Ram Temple since its inauguration, has therefore become the latest point of political contention between the SP and the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.- Ends(With PTI inputs)