Senior functionaries of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological wellspring of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and its Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), will meet around 300 seers in Ayodhya on Thursday over alleged irregularities in fundraising at a Ram temple.
The meeting is seen as part of an attempt to contain the political fallout from the irregularities ahead of the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections scheduled for early 2027. People familiar with the matter said it was organized to reassure a Hindu community rocked by the theft of donations.
About 300 seers, representing various akaras, or Hindu monastic orders, and religious traditions, are expected to gather for a meeting at 3 p.m.
RSS leaders Bhaiya Ji Joshi and Krishna Gopal are expected to attend the meeting, along with Nritya Gopal Das, president of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust, which runs the Ram temple.
RSS functionaries said the meeting will focus on the measures taken so far, the findings of the special investigation team formed to look into the violations, and the steps needed to remove confusion and mistrust among devotees. They added that a roadmap will be drawn up based on inputs from saints as part of the RSS and VHP’s attempt to allay the concerns of the BJP’s core Hindu support base.
Alleged fundraising irregularities remain a major concern for the RSS and its network of organisations, or Sangh Parivar, as the BJP hopes to return to power in Uttar Pradesh for a third time.
The state government formed a three-member Special Investigation Committee to investigate the matter and all eight accused were arrested.
Champat Rai, general secretary of the trust, and Anil Mishra, one of the trustees, have tendered their resignations. Ram Shankar Yadav, also known as Tinu Yadav, known as the alleged leader, worked as Rai’s driver. Two of Mishra’s relatives are also among the arrested accused.
The construction of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya was a fundamental ideological issue for the Sangh Parivar. There were concerns within the BJP about the ramifications of the case ahead of the Assembly elections.
Opposition Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav promised to restore the glory of Ayodhya if the vote returns to power. The BJP countered him by reminding Yadav of the crackdown on the movement to build a Ram temple instead of the Babri Masjid during the SP rule in the 1990s.
Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 out of 543 representatives to Parliament, is the most important of the five states that will go to the polls next year.
The Opposition questioned how BJP governments, both at the Center and in the state, could shirk their responsibilities, citing their role in forming the trust to build the temple and selecting people associated with the Sangh Parivar as its members.
LK Advani was the leader of the nascent BJP when he made the Ram Temple the party’s core issue. The BJP’s seats jumped to 89 seats in the 1989 national elections from two seats in 1984. Advani campaigned 10,000 km from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya to build the temple, leaking the BJP’s message across the countryside.
The BJP lost the Ayodhya Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 elections after building and inaugurating a temple in Ayodhya. The SP registered its best performance in the polls, winning 37 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP’s seats in the state fell from 62 in 2019 to 33, as the party’s overall tally fell below the majority mark in Parliament, leaving it dependent on allies to retain power.
