In 1990, when L K Advani set out on his Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya, the journey didn’t survive contact with Bihar – Lalu Yadav’s government had him arrested in Samastipur. Into that vacuum stepped Ashok Singhal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s then general secretary, who slipped into Ayodhya and performed the shila pujan.
Standing in his shadow was a young VHP functionary named Champat Rai. Under Singhal’s wing, Rai’s position within the organisation only grew – and according to people who watched it happen, caste had a good deal to do with it. Singhal and Rai were both Baniya, and observers say that shared identity smoothed Rai’s path.
