BJP plans another Ram statue in Uttar Pradesh: Report

On November 6 2018, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that Faizabad district would henceforth be known as Ayodhya.

Days after announcing its plan to construct a Lord Ram statue on the banks of the Sarayu River in Ayodhya, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now unveiled plans to install a statue of Ram embracing Nishad Raj in Prayagraj (earlier Allahabad), according to a report The Times of India.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya announced that a statue of Ram embracing the fisherman king will be constructed at Shringverpur Dham on the banks of the river.

Plans to construct the statue is being seen as a move to woo the Nishad community, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

It is believed that Ram, who was in exile, met Nishad Raj who offered to help him sail across river Ganga at Shringverpur.

With 80 Lok Sabha seats, UP has the largest pool of parliamentary seats.

BJP is being challenged by a possible alliance between Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) and Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Earlier this year, BJP lost Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's bastion Gorakhpur and Maurya's parliamentary seat Phulpur in the bypolls.

While announcing plans to build a Ram statue in Ayodhya earlier, Adityanath had also said that a new airport named after Ram would be built in the holy town. He had also announced that a medical college will be named after King Dasharatha, Ram’s father.