Rahul Gandhi's Temple Run Begins Right In Time For Elections In Five States

As the electoral fervour intensifies in anticipation of assembly elections in five Indian states, the former chief of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, embarked on a distinct journey. 

While the Congress asserts that this pilgrimage is a deeply personal spiritual quest for Gandhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) interprets it as an endeavour to emulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Gandhi, who has been fervently traversing the campaign trail for several weeks, arrived at Kedarnath via a helicopter and is expected to lodge at the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam guesthouse for the ensuing three days, according to sources within the Congress.

On Monday (6 November), Gandhi is slated to partake in the Rudrabhishek puja, a distinctive religious ritual venerating Lord Shiva. 

The Uttarakhand State Congress Committee, cognisant of the significance of Gandhi's visit, implored its cadre through social media not to congregate at Kedarnath and disrupt his spiritual endeavour. 

Conversely, the BJP, in a statement posted on social media, insinuated that regardless of Gandhi's efforts, the public would forever remember the Congress party's "anti-Sanatan" sentiments. 

BJP spokesperson Manvir Chauhan asserted that Gandhi's attempts to emulate PM Modi's Hindutva and religiosity would not deceive voters, as the truth was widely recognised. 

Suresh Joshi, another senior BJP figure in Uttarakhand, seized the opportunity to jest about the timing of Gandhi's visit, suggesting that those who had never witnessed a Ramlila (a depiction of Lord Rama's life) were now extolling Lord Rama and visiting Shiva's shrine.

This visit to Kedarnath is not Gandhi's inaugural pilgrimage to the sacred site. In 2013, he undertook a trek to the shrine shortly after the devastating Kedarnath deluge, which claimed numerous lives. 

Furthermore, in October 2022, during the inauguration of a 369-foot-tall statue of Lord Shiva in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot acclaimed Gandhi as an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva.

In September 2018, Gandhi also embarked on the Kailash Mansarovar yatra, documenting his journey to Mount Kailash on social media with the caption: "Shiva is the Universe."