In Ayodhya, BJP mum on Ram Mandir row, says Yogi, Modi will ‘fix the rot’
BJP leaders and workers in the temple town are keeping their distance, insisting it is a matter "between the Ram Temple and the Trust" and stressing that neither has any BJP representative.
Dinendra Das Maharaj, a trustee, with devotees at Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Saturday. (ANI) At the BJP’s new office in Ayodhya’s Saadatganj area, bundles of a special edition of Sandesh — the quarterly magazine published by the Uttar Pradesh government’s Information Department — lie stacked. An old issue from October-December 2025, it celebrates a milestone in the construction of the Ram Temple.
The mood inside the party, however, is markedly different. As questions mount over the ongoing controversy surrounding donations to the Ram Temple, BJP leaders and workers in the temple town are keeping their distance, insisting it is a matter “between the Ram Temple and the Trust” and stressing that neither has any BJP representative.
Claiming that the issue would have little electoral impact because action would be taken and that public anger was directed against those guilty of theft, Verma said, “Har koi chahta hai ki karyawahi ho aur dhang ki karyawahi ho, taki koi is tarah ki harkat na kar sake… Par main nahi manta ki election mein mandir koi mudda ban payega… Chaan been hogi, Yogi ji chhorne wale nahi hai (Everyone wants action and proper action so that nobody can indulge in such acts again. But I do not believe the temple issue will become an election issue. There will be an investigation and Yogi ji will not spare the culprits).”
It was the movement for the Ram Temple — the Ram Janmabhoomi movement — that had enabled the BJP’s rise in national politics. Despite the silence among the lower rung over the alleged donation theft, a lot is at stake for the BJP. While the UP government was quick to set up a Special Investigation Team and make arrests, the issue simmers, with the Opposition Samajwadi Party using the opportunity to go hammer and tongs and the BJP.
Unless defused, it could bear an outcome on the 2027 Assembly elections in the state as well as the 2029 Lok Sabha polls for the ruling party.
‘They took Lord Ram’s money, but Yogi, Modi will fix it’
A few kilometres away, at the BJP’s old office in Civil Lines, party functionaries from gram pradhans to current and former office-bearers were present. They said they had been instructed not to speak officially or post on social media about the matter. Yet, the issue clearly weighed on their minds and many said they were waiting for “action” before responding to the Opposition.
“This is not our issue. The Ram Temple authorities and the Trust should explain what went wrong and where. Is there any BJP face there?” asked a veteran party functionary.
He added that he had been associated with the Ram Temple movement since the early 1990s, when activists carried bricks to villages, organised pujas and collected consecrated shilas from different blocks as part of the movement while working with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He also claimed to have been present when the disputed structure was demolished.
While many BJP workers continue to identify strongly with the Ram Temple movement, several senior leaders do not associate themselves as closely with the current institutional structure. One such worker remarked, “Bahut kuch badal gaya hai (A lot has changed)”.
Younger functionaries, however, recalled going door-to-door to collect donations for the temple’s construction. “In villages, if you tell even an addict that you are carrying money meant for the temple, he would not dare snatch it from you. But in this case, they took Ram ka paisa (Lord Ram’s money),” said a young mandal-level functionary.
“We are not saying anything yet. Let the action take place and then we will respond appropriately,” he added.
“First, we got the blot of losing Ayodhya (in the 2024 election) and now this. But trust me, mistakes will not be repeated in 2027.”
He said party workers were avoiding defending anyone over the issue in public discussions or at tea stalls because they feared it could backfire at present and were instead limiting themselves to saying, “Yogi ji, Modi ji thik kar denge (Yogi ji and Modi ji will fix it)”.
“People remain connected to the belief that Yogi ji and Modi ji will set things right,” said Rajesh Singh, a local BJP leader.
Supporting him, Vipin Singh, general secretary of the BJP’s Ayodhya unit, said, “People are saddened, but there has been no decline in faith. Everyone remains confident.”
While BJP’s public representatives in the district avoided commenting on the issue, district president Radhye Shyam Tyagi, who said he was attending a local event in the Gosaiganj area, stated: “It is true that an incident has taken place, but prompt action was initiated and an SIT was constituted as soon as the information came to light. Once the SIT report is submitted, all those found guilty will be punished.”
“Koi bhi bakhsha nahi jayega (No one will be spared),” he added.
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