The chief priest of the Ram temple here on Monday said it is good that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is not contesting the Assembly polls from the seat as he would have faced a lot of opposition.
When asked why he suggested that Mr. Adityanath should not to contest from Ayodhya, Acharya Satyendra Das said he advised this “after asking Ram Lalla (Lord Ram)”.
Acharya Das said he suggested that Mr. Adityanath should contest from Gorakhpur as people whose houses and shops were demolished here due to infrastructure projects in the wake of the construction of the temple were opposing him.
“It's good that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is not contesting from here. I had suggested it earlier and advised that it will be better that he contest from any seat of Gorakhpur,” said the Acharya, who is the chief priest of the makeshift Ram Lalla temple, which is being replaced by a grand temple.
“I speak after asking Ram Lalla. I spoke with Ram Lalla’s inspiration,” he said.
The seers here are divided in their opinion and those whose houses and shops were demolished are against him, the 84-year-old priest said.
"All are saying that it’s his work. The opposition is there. I said he better go there (Gorakhpur). He would have won from here but could have faced problems,” he added.
There was a strong buzz in political circles that Mr. Adityanath would enter the fray from Ayodhya but the BJP leadership decided to field him from the Gorakhpur (Urban) Assembly segment.
About the election mood in Ayodhya, the Archrya said it is not yet clear as all parties have not declared their candidates.
