Uttar Pradesh News: Senior BJP Leader Vinay Katiyar Signals Political Comeback, Ayodhya Likely Assembly Seat

Lucknow: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and prominent face of the Ram temple movement Vinay Katiyar has indicated that he may contest the next Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with Ayodhya emerging as the likely seat, setting off fresh speculation about his political comeback.

Katiyar, who had largely stayed away from active politics in recent years, has re-entered the public and organisational space following a recent meeting with newly appointed state BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary. Soon after that interaction, he said he was ready to return to electoral politics, a statement that party circles view as a clear signal of his intent.

The buzz around his possible return intensified after former state BJP president and Rajya Sabha member Laxmikant Bajpai also met him, fuelling talk that his role is being reconsidered at senior levels within the party.

Katiyar had earlier spoken of stepping away from politics, but after the change in leadership in the state unit, he has begun holding meetings with party workers and local leaders. According to sources, the recent interactions focused on future electoral strategy and organisational outreach.

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In recent weeks, Katiyar has been spending considerable time in Ayodhya, meeting grassroots workers and holding informal discussions. Political observers see this as significant in the backdrop of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when sections of Kurmi voters in Ayodhya and neighbouring Ambedkar Nagar were perceived to have drifted away from the BJP. Party leaders believe Katiyar’s presence could help the party reconnect with that social base.

Katiyar’s marginalisation within the BJP began after 2014, when he publicly supported L K Advani as the prime ministerial candidate. After Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, his organisational influence gradually declined.

Political analysts say that if the BJP decides to field Katiyar in the 2027 Assembly elections, he could still emerge as a competitive candidate, particularly in Ayodhya. They add that any decision to contest outside the party fold would make the seat high-profile and politically sensitive, though winning as an Independent would be extremely challenging in the present political climate.

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Observers also note that within the BJP, leaders such as Pankaj Chaudhary and Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh are now seen as stronger Kurmi faces, while Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath remains the party’s central Hindutva figure. In this context, they say, Katiyar’s path back to prominence will largely depend on how the party chooses to accommodate him ahead of the next Assembly polls.