Akhilesh pushes temple project in Yadav citadel before state poll battle

On the outskirts of Etawah town in central Uttar Pradesh is the Lion Safari Park, once a big draw for tourists in India's most-populous province but now closed due to a recent avian flu scare.

- Qazi Faraz Ahmad

ETAWAH:

But coming up roughly 8km away, off the Etawah-Bhind bypass road, is another potential landmark for the city often considered a stronghold of the Yadav family.

Here, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav — accused by the Bharatiya Janata Party of being anti-Hindu for skipping the Ram temple inauguration in January 2024 — is quietly pushing a major religious project — the Kedareshwar Mahadev temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The temple is being built on a 12-acre plot by the Kedareshwar Mahadev Etawah Temple Trust, whose chief trustee is former chief minister Yadav. The pran pratistha or consecration ceremony was done in February 2024 and a small pool of devotees has been trickling in. But the grand inauguration is scheduled for February 2026 — roughly a year before assembly polls in the state — said Madhu Botta, head of RIPL Constructions, the firm building the temple. Construction started with a Bhoomi Pujan on March 7, 2021 with Yadav in attendance. Last year, he shared a video on X of ongoing construction at the temple. The main temple complex is completed, but work related to the water tank, outer parikrama corridor, administrative block and boundary wall is pending.

Addressing the media at the party office in Lucknow recently, Akhilesh said: "I will visit the Ram Temple, after our Kedareshwar Temple is completed in Etawah."

Blending traditions Botta said only granite "Krishna Purush Shila" was being used in areas other than the foundational structure.

A blend of northern and southern Indian traditions will be seen, he said.

"Initially, Akhileshji asked me to get a Nandiji statue constructed, after which he asked me to study all the major temples and make a unique Lord Shiva temple in Etawah. We extensively researched major temples and brought together the best resources in this field for the Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple in Etawah," Botta said.