400 Lok Sabha seats needed to build temples in Mathura, Varanasi, claims BJP’s Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, speaking at an election rally in East Delhi on Tuesday, said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plans to build temples at the Krishna Janmabhoomi site in Mathura and the Gyanvapi mosque area in Varanasi if it secures 400 seats in the ongoing elections. 

Biswa was campaigning for BJP's East Delhi candidate, Harsh Malhotra, in the national capital on Tuesday.  

“Would you ask Sachin Tendulkar why he scored double and triple centuries? When we had 300 seats, built Ram Mandir. Now, if we get 400 seats, Mathura will see the realisation of Krishna Janmabhoomi. We shall replace the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi with a grand temple dedicated to Baba Vishwanath. We will also be able to clean up the mess spread by the Mughals,” the Assam CM said.

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The sites in Mathura and Varanasi are both disputed, and legal cases are underway. In the Mathura case, the Allahabad High Court is hearing a petition seeking the ‘removal’ of the Shahi Idgah mosque, which stands adjacent to the Krishna Janmasthan temple.  In the second case, the Supreme Court, in April this year, refused to stay the Hindu prayers in the mosque cellars and ordered maintaining the status quo on the offering of namaz by Muslims in the Gyanvapi premises in Varanasi.

Biswa also said that Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) will be included in India under the leadership of Narendra Modi in his predicted third term as the Prime Minister.

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“We were told during the Congress's regime that Kashmir is part of both India and Pakistan... If Modiji gets 400 seats, we will bring the PoK to India. If I continue with the list of our plans with 400 seats, Congress will reach the ICU,” he said.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), seeking a record third term under PM Modi, has set a target of winning 400 seats this election. The opposition parties, led by the Congress under the banner of the INDIA bloc, are challenging the ruling alliance. 

With four phases over, the seven-phase Lok Sabha election will be completed on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.