BJP top guns brainstorm Ram Temple spinoffs

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, November 17: The top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party have brainstormed the events around the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya. The discussions took place close on the heels of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) giving final shape to the programmes around the inauguration of the Ram Temple.

Taking stock of the responses to the events so far held by various affiliates of the RSS and the state units of the BJP, senior functionaries of the saffron outfit have decided to extend the celebrations of the inauguration of the Ram Temple by a month. Now, the programmes and the events will extend till end of the month of March next year to whip up emotional sentiments across the country around the temple in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The meeting took place on Thursday.

“The programmes around the inauguration of the Ram Temple which were set for conclusion by end of February now will extend till the last week of the month of March. This is strategised with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections and also as a counter to the Opposition narrative around the caste census,” said a top-ranking BJP functionary.

The programmes so far on the table include the distribution of consecrated rice, offered at the sanctum sanatorium, across the country to help the people establish direct connections with the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. “Besides remembering the sacrifices of Kar Sewaks, two lakh people from each of the districts in the country are being mobilized to come to Ayodhya from the inauguration till the last week of March. Also, there are several events being given final shapes which required extension of a month for their hassle-free executions,” added the BJP functionary.

Incidentally, the RSS has separately chalked out plans for the events linked to the inauguration of the Ram Temple with the affiliate Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) at the forefront. “The BJP’s task is to press into action the full might of the cadre to help the people all across the country connect with the Ram Temple and understand the significance while recalling the journey in the making of the grand temple. Efforts will be made to relive the history, not just from 1989 but for several centuries when the identity of the collective Hindu was sought to be diluted for fragmentation,” said another senior BJP functionary.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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