Why the Ram Temple Donation Row Could Hurt BJP in UP
Ayodhya Donation Controversy Casts Shadow on Yogi's Third-Term Bid (Image UP Infor dept)
By MANISH ANAND
The controversy over alleged discrepancies in Ram Temple donations has prompted Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to order a high-level probe, as opposition parties seek to turn Ayodhya into a political battleground ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
New Delhi, June 2026 — The Ram Temple donation row has emerged as top political discourse in Uttar Pradesh. The row directly threatens to disrupt the campaign of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for a third straight mandate in the Assembly election slated to be held in February-March next year. For Adityanath, the row is more worrisome for the fact that he had accorded centre stage to Ayodhya in his governance narrative — a development model with focus on religious tourism and promotion of the “Hindu unity” and promotion of “Sanatan Dharma.”
The speed at which Adityanath tasked a team of state government officials to investigate allegations of certain sums of donations and offerings not being accounted for clearly suggests his eagerness to stem the crisis at the earliest. A three-member special investigation team (SIT) was given a fortnight to submit its report. The Chief Minister visited Ayodhya on Friday, June 19, as the row rages across the state and the Opposition parties question the Ram Temple Trust and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While former state Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is leading the charge against the BJP over the donation row, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh is also in the thick of action. Singh on Thursday submitted a written complain at a police station in Ayodhya over the alleged “missing” donations and offerings. Additionally, former Lok Sabha MP of the BJP Vinay Katiyar, who was a prominent face of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, is also lending his voice against the Ram Temple Trust members.
Saffron Optics Takes a Major Hit
The BJP’s top strategists have in recent years mainstreamed claims that perception for the party is more important than performance in their conversations. The perception is carefully crafted by the BJP with repeated amplifications of a certain narrative. But the Ram Temple donation row threatens to damage attempts of the BJP to build the perception of the rise of Sanatan Dharma in the party’s rule in the state.
For the Opposition, the Ram Temple donation row has become easy to communicate with the punchline — “Bhagwan ke ghar me chori (theft in the house of the god).” The accusations are resonating with the people as alternative media on social media platforms are creating contents to discuss the issue and raise questions.
With the Ram Temple commanding a place of prominence in the BJP’s narrative of the rise of the Sanatan Dharma under the party’s rule, the donation row hits at the core of the saffron narrative. The BJP’s optics faces severe test further as the Ram Temple Trust (Shree Ram Jnambhoomi Theerth Trust) was enacted by parliament. Twelve of the 15 members of the Trust have been appointed by the Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Prime Minister’s image as a Hindtuva icon also faces a stress test as Nripendra Mishra, former principal secretary in the PMO and a key aide of Modi in his first term, is the chairman of the construction committee of the temple, while also being an ex-officio member of the Trust. Champat Rai, who is in the eye of the raging storm over the donation row, is the general secretary of the Trust, and he’s believed to be the most powerful person in the temple body. He was the prominent face of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which on the direction of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) had led the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Why Adityanath is in line of Opposition fire?
While 12 of the 15 members of the Trust were appointed by the Central government and the blame if any should be directed at the Centre in place of the UP government, Adityanath is facing the major political heat. His challenge is immediate, that is, to defend the BJP-led government in the state Assembly elections to be held in another eight months. His campaign to spotlight “achievements” of the UP government has taken a visible hit, as the state is buzzing with conspiracy theories and unverified claims and allegations. Now allegations are also being levelled that precious stone gifts are also missing from the Ram Temple.
The significance of Ayodhya in the BJP’s political strategy could be gauged from the fact that Adityanath had aggressively campaigned for Milkipur Assembly bypoll in Faizabad last year with sole aim to undo the damages of the party losing the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat to the Samajwadi Party in the 2024 general elections. Faizabad has now been renamed as Ayodhya (which earlier used to be an Assembly seat). The district has been a stronghold of the SP and the party’s young Brahmin candidate Pawan Pandey had won the Ayodhya Assembly seat in 2012.
The SP had exploited the anger of the local people against land acquisition and demolition drives to win the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Ayodhya. The Adityanath-led government has aggressively been spearheading land acquisition and road widening works in the Ayodhya district as a part of the redevelopment project.
As Akhilesh Yadav amplifies the Ram Temple donation row, he is currently in the midst of a major outreach among the people affected by land acquisition and demolition drives. The SP chief, thus, has woven together the Ram Temple donation row into land acquisition and demolition drives to focus his offensives on Adityanath, as well as the BJP.
Nripendra Mishra, ex-principal secretary in the PMO and an ex-officio member of the Ram Temple Trust, has come forth to say that the Tirupati Temple model of managing donations and offerings should be adopted in Ayodhya also. But the people in UP seem to be not paying attention to what will be done in the future as they debate how did this (alleged missing donations and offering) happen in the Ram Temple.
(This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author’s own.)
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About The Author
Analysis is decent and certainly BJP may experience a dent in their reputation. But still my hunch is ultimately Yogi regime will continue. The reason is that the quality of SIT and subsequent deterrent punishment to the culprits will help in restoring the reputation of the party. Certainly the plan of the SP leader will be down to dust.