Eknath Shinde is set to go to Ayodhya on Sunday with thousands of Shiv Sainiks. This would be his first trip there since being sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in June of last year. Shiv Sena ministers, MPs, and MLAs are expected to arrive in Ayodhya on Saturday, and almost all of the hotels, guest homes, and dharamshalas in the temple town have already been reserved for their stay. A day before to Shinde, Shiv Sainiks are anticipated to arrive in Ayodhya on special trains to greet him. The Shiv Sena has created a strategy to promote Shinde’s trip to Ayodhya across the nation.
The Maharashtra government’s official schedule states that Shinde would arrive in Lucknow on Saturday evening and spend the night there. He will fly to Ayodhya on Sunday morning and arrive along the banks of the Saryu river. Viraj Mulaye, the spokesman for the Maharashtra Chief Minister, told PTI: “The chief minister of Maharashtra will fly into Lucknow on Saturday before travelling to Ayodhya on Sunday to worship at the Hanumangarhi and Ram temples. Also, he will see the Ram Janmabhoomi temple’s continuing construction and participate in the sunset ‘aarti’ on the banks of the Saryu river.”
“Along with seeing the Ayodhya seers, he will also speak at a news conference. After he has completed all of his planned activities in Ayodhya, he would depart for Mumbai on Sunday “said Mulaye. Shinde will stay at the temple town for around nine hours. He had said on Friday that Ayodhya has the deepest religious significance for him and his followers. When he flagged off a special train conveying Shiv Sainiks to the temple town amid chanting of “Jai Shri Ram,” the state minister claimed that Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray wants to see a big Ram temple built in Ayodhya. The “Chalo Ayodhya” board hung at the front of the unique train added to its exquisite decoration.
According to Shinde, a second train from Nashik carrying Shiv Sainiks has departed towards Ayodhya. In all, more than 3,000 devotees have boarded these two trains to go to the temple town; they will get there on Saturday, he had previously said. Previously, on November 25, 2018, a year before the Supreme Court’s decision in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Mosque property dispute, Shinde travelled to Ayodhya as a Shiv Sena representative. In March 2020 and June of last year, he also paid visits to Ayodhya.
