There was a massive show of strength by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis as they visited and prayed at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Accompanied by a large number of Shiv Sainiks, Shinde also held roadshow in the city before visiting the temple. This is the first visit of Shinde to Ayodhya after being sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra in June last year.
Thousands of Shiv Sainiks have also reached the city and almost all hotels, guest houses and dharamshalas in the temple town have been booked to accommodate Shiv Sena ministers, MPs and MLAs.
The Shiv Sena is planning to highlight Shinde's visit to Ayodhya across the country.
Earlier, Shinde had visited Ayodhya as a Shiv Sena leader on November 25, 2018, a year before the Supreme Court announced the verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute.
He also visited Ayodhya in March 2020 and June last year.
Talking about his visit to Ayodhya for the first time after becoming the chief minister, Shinde said he was happy and satisfied to see the atmosphere here.
He expressed his gratitude to Uttar Pradesh ministers and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whom he will be meeting later in the day in Lucknow.
Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray wanted to see a grand Ram temple come up in Ayodhya, Shinde had said.
(with PTI inputs)