Why Ayodhya Will Continue To Resonate In Mumbai As Elections Draw Near

File Photo of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who is set to kick off his “Shiv Dhanush Yatra” with a visit to Ayodhya. ( Image Source :PTI )

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde is all set to kick off his “Shiv Dhanush Yatra” with a visit to Ayodhya, where he plans to pay homage to Ram Lala’s temple, meet with the priests, and bring back a symbolic bow and arrow to Mumbai. This visit is seen as the unofficial start of Shiv Sena's election campaign for the upcoming 2023-24 elections in Maharashtra.

Although Mumbai and Ayodhya are located 1,500 kilometres apart, they are intrinsically linked through politics. Ayodhya has become a symbol of the aggressive Hindutva ideology, which is frequently invoked by political parties in Maharashtra. This ideology was aggressively pursued by the BJP after the Palanpur convention of 1989, leading to the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. However, the political significance of Ayodhya did not end there and continues to resonate in Maharashtra's political discourse.

The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance's victory in the Vidhan Sabha polls of 1995 was largely attributed to the communal riots that had taken place in Mumbai in 1992-93. Similarly, in 2018, Uddhav Thackeray taunted the BJP with the slogan “Pehle Mandir, Fir Sarkar” (First build the temple, then form the government) before the Supreme Court's ruling paved the way for the temple's construction.

In June last year, when Eknath Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, he alleged Uddhav has compromised Hindutva by joining hands with secular parties like the Congress and the NCP. In 2019, when Uddhav Thackeray broke the alliance to form the government with the Congress and the NCP, he signed the preamble of the tri-party alliance which mentioned the word “secular” twice. Since the 1980s, the politics of the Shiv Sena had revolved around militant Hindutva ideology and such an act by Uddhav shocked everybody.

In May, a month before the rebellion in the Shiv Sena, there was a war of words between Uddhav Thackeray and former CM Devendra Fadnavis over Ayodhya. During a rally at Mumbai’s Somaiya ground, Fadnavis claimed he was in Ayodhya when the Babri mosque was being demolished. This was countered by Uddhav Thackeray, who said Fadnavis might be a child when the mosque was being demolished. Uddhav quoted his late father, Bal Thackeray, and claimed that they were Shiv Sainiks who took part in the demolition.

In a bid to establish themselves as true believers in Ayodhya, Uddhav Thackeray, his family, and even Aaditya Thackeray visited Ayodhya multiple times. Interestingly, Eknath Shinde was with Aaditya on the Ayodhya trip, a few days before he rebelled against Uddhav.

Last year in April, Raj Thackeray, the MNS chief, also tried to establish himself as a Hindutva leader by calling for a "Chalo Ayodhya" rally. Despite his Marathi agenda, Raj had to embrace Hindutva as his party's new agenda and even changed his flag to saffron, claiming that Hindutva was in his DNA. However, he had to cancel his Ayodhya trip due to objections from a BJP MP who demanded an apology for Raj's incitement of violence against North Indians.

The visits of Maharashtra's politicians to Ayodhya make it clear that Hindutva will be a major factor in the upcoming Mumbai municipal corporation, Lok Sabha, and Vidhan Sabha elections. Ayodhya will undoubtedly continue to resonate in Mumbai.

(Bombayphile is published every Saturday where Jitendra Dixit writes about past and present of Mumbai.)

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