Rarely have the sadhus of Ayodhya been so divided ahead of a Lok Sabha election. In recent months, the town's ascetics were euphoric as they watched the rise of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. But the elation disappeared and sadhus split into rival camps a few weeks ago, when the saffron party decided to make Lallu Singh its candidate from Faizabad, of which Ayodhya is a part.
The sadhus are angry that Singh got the ticket instead of Vinay Katiyar, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Samiti pracharak who shot to fame in 1984 when he was made the founding president of Bajrang Dal. He has considerable influence over sadhus of Ayodhya.
Lallu Singh was chosen because he had the backing of such senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad figures as Ashok Singhal, said a senior BJP leader who requested anonymity. “Katiyar is considered close to LK Advani”, who has been sidelined by Modi in this election, this person said. “How could he have escaped the fate that has befallen his mentor?”
The BJP’s decision has turned sadhu against sadhu even in Hanumangarhi, the headquarters of Nirvaniakhara, a major ascetic order of Vaishnava sect. The temple complex resembles a fort and houses over 600 sadhus. Nirmohi and Digambari akharas are the other two major Vaishnava ascetic orders. Because Ayodhya is considered the birthplace of Lord Ram, one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the town is the epicentre of all the Vaishnav aakharas that regard Lord Ram as their tutelary deity.
“In Hanumangarhi these days, even normal political discussions quickly turn into angry exchanges of abuse,” said Avadhesh Das, a resident of the temple complex. “It seems sadhus have too much at stake in this election.”
Dharam Das, the Shri Mahant of the Nirwani akhara, told Scroll.in that sadhus across all akharas backed Modi. “But it seems not all are happy with the BJP candidate in Faizabad,” he said.
Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Ramjanmabhoomi temple, had this to say: “Every sadhu in Ayodhya is interpreting Modi in his own way, and everyone has strong opinion for or against the BJP candidate in Faizabad.”
Complete support from the Ayodhya segment of the constituency is critical for the BJP to win the Faizabad seat, and yet it is this very area that is thoroughly divided. “The majority of sadhus of Ayodhya want to see Modi become the next Prime Minister, but only a small number of them would do anything to make the BJP win from Faizabad,” said Satyendra Das.
For now, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the arm of the Sangh Parivar that organises the ascetic community, claims that it isn’t perturbed. “Sadhus in Ayodhya are one with the BJP,” said Sharad Sharma, who is in charge of the VHP media wing in Uttar Pradesh. He said that when sadhus gathered at a Sant Sammelan during the Allahabad Kumbha Mela at the beginning of 2013, they unanimously decided to support Modi. “In Faizabad, there was some confusion when the candidate was declared by the BJP,” he said. “But now that is over, and most of the sadhus are with us.”
Not everyone agrees with the VHP leader’s contention. “The BJP would easily have won Faizabad had it listened to the sadhus,” said Ghanshyam Das, a prominent sadhu of Ayodhya considered close to spurned candidate Vinay Katiyar. “There are nearly 10,000 sadhus in and around Ayodhya. They play important role in swinging the mood of a large section of voters. Majority of these sadhus are unhappy.”
Meanwhile, on March 20, nearly 400 sadhus held a meeting and asked Ramvilas Das Vedanti, a local sadhu and a senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader, to contest as an independent candidate. “The very next day, along with 15 sadhus of Ayodhya, I left for Delhi,” said Vedanti. “On March 22 we met Rajnath Singh and told him about the overwhelming desire of the sadhus, but he has not taken any decision so far.”
Said Raghvesh Das, a disciple of Vedanti, “Ayodhya is where Ram was born. Let Ram take the final decision,” he added.
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The sadhus are angry that Singh got the ticket instead of Vinay Katiyar, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Samiti pracharak who shot to fame in 1984 when he was made the founding president of Bajrang Dal. He has considerable influence over sadhus of Ayodhya.
Lallu Singh was chosen because he had the backing of such senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad figures as Ashok Singhal, said a senior BJP leader who requested anonymity. “Katiyar is considered close to LK Advani”, who has been sidelined by Modi in this election, this person said. “How could he have escaped the fate that has befallen his mentor?”
The BJP’s decision has turned sadhu against sadhu even in Hanumangarhi, the headquarters of Nirvaniakhara, a major ascetic order of Vaishnava sect. The temple complex resembles a fort and houses over 600 sadhus. Nirmohi and Digambari akharas are the other two major Vaishnava ascetic orders. Because Ayodhya is considered the birthplace of Lord Ram, one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the town is the epicentre of all the Vaishnav aakharas that regard Lord Ram as their tutelary deity.
“In Hanumangarhi these days, even normal political discussions quickly turn into angry exchanges of abuse,” said Avadhesh Das, a resident of the temple complex. “It seems sadhus have too much at stake in this election.”
Dharam Das, the Shri Mahant of the Nirwani akhara, told Scroll.in that sadhus across all akharas backed Modi. “But it seems not all are happy with the BJP candidate in Faizabad,” he said.
Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Ramjanmabhoomi temple, had this to say: “Every sadhu in Ayodhya is interpreting Modi in his own way, and everyone has strong opinion for or against the BJP candidate in Faizabad.”
Complete support from the Ayodhya segment of the constituency is critical for the BJP to win the Faizabad seat, and yet it is this very area that is thoroughly divided. “The majority of sadhus of Ayodhya want to see Modi become the next Prime Minister, but only a small number of them would do anything to make the BJP win from Faizabad,” said Satyendra Das.
For now, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the arm of the Sangh Parivar that organises the ascetic community, claims that it isn’t perturbed. “Sadhus in Ayodhya are one with the BJP,” said Sharad Sharma, who is in charge of the VHP media wing in Uttar Pradesh. He said that when sadhus gathered at a Sant Sammelan during the Allahabad Kumbha Mela at the beginning of 2013, they unanimously decided to support Modi. “In Faizabad, there was some confusion when the candidate was declared by the BJP,” he said. “But now that is over, and most of the sadhus are with us.”
Not everyone agrees with the VHP leader’s contention. “The BJP would easily have won Faizabad had it listened to the sadhus,” said Ghanshyam Das, a prominent sadhu of Ayodhya considered close to spurned candidate Vinay Katiyar. “There are nearly 10,000 sadhus in and around Ayodhya. They play important role in swinging the mood of a large section of voters. Majority of these sadhus are unhappy.”
Meanwhile, on March 20, nearly 400 sadhus held a meeting and asked Ramvilas Das Vedanti, a local sadhu and a senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader, to contest as an independent candidate. “The very next day, along with 15 sadhus of Ayodhya, I left for Delhi,” said Vedanti. “On March 22 we met Rajnath Singh and told him about the overwhelming desire of the sadhus, but he has not taken any decision so far.”
Said Raghvesh Das, a disciple of Vedanti, “Ayodhya is where Ram was born. Let Ram take the final decision,” he added.