CMs of BJP-ruled states to visit Ayodhya today, offer prayers to Lord Ram

The BJP national president is being accompanied by his wife on the visit, and the families of the CMs will also be a part of the convoy.

Top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party, including its President JP Nadda and as many as nine Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of party-led states, will be visiting the Ram Janmbhoomi in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on Wednesday. This would be the first such visit by the BJP chief to the Ram Janmbhoomi after the Supreme Court’s verdict on the issue.

The group’s visit assumes significance as Uttar Pradesh is scheduled for Assembly polls early next year. The scheduled visit also includes offering prayers at Hanuman Garhi temple and Saryu Ghat. The BJP national president is being accompanied by his wife on the visit, and the families of the CMs will also be a part of the convoy. Out of the 12 BJP Chief Ministers, Uttar Pradesh’s CM Yogi Adityanath would be skipping the visit due to the ongoing Assembly session, while Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami paid his obeisance at the Ram Temple yesterday, before leaving for his state.

Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur also had to leave for urgent work in his state. The BJP chief arrived in Varanasi on Sunday ahead of the inauguration of phase 1 of the newly-constructed Kashi Vishwanath Dham by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier on Tuesday, the Prime Minister, who was on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi, chaired a meeting with the Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states in Varanasi. Nadda was also present in the meeting.