Kedareshwar temple in Etawah signals Akhilesh Yadav’s spiritual pivot ahead of 2027 UP polls

Etawah: As the Samajwadi Party (SP) refines its PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) strategy to take on the BJP in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, a significant spiritual development is quietly reshaping its political narrative.

In Etawah, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s home district, a massive Shiva temple — the Kedareshwar Mahadev Mandir — is rising, merging religious symbolism with soft political messaging.

Sprawled over 11 acres, the temple’s foundation was laid by Akhilesh in 2021, just months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the shilanyas of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The temple is scheduled for inauguration on Shivratri, February 15, 2026, shortly before the Assembly polls.

In a carefully timed move, Akhilesh’s wife and SP MP Dimple Yadav led the pran-pratishtha ceremony in January 2024 — the same day Modi inaugurated the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The parallel didn’t go unnoticed.

“This temple offers spiritual access to those who cannot travel to Kedarnath,” said Madhu Botta, who heads the company overseeing construction. “It lies on the sacred Shiva Aksha Rekha — the spiritual longitude that connects Kedarnath to Rameshwaram. Etawah becomes the ninth point in this sacred line.”

The temple’s design borrows heavily from South Indian architecture. Its 50-foot entrance is inspired by Tamil Nadu’s Vaitheeswaran Temple, while the sanctum — modeled after Kedarnath — stands at 72 feet, one inch shorter than the original as a mark of reverence.

Like the Ram Temple, the Etawah shrine is being constructed without cement or iron, using an ancient mix of lime, jaggery, banana pulp, and honey to bind massive granite blocks.

The granite — Krishnapurush Shila — has been sourced from Kanyakumari, the same material used for the Ram Lalla idol in Ayodhya.

While SP leaders downplay the political symbolism, they acknowledge the temple’s broader cultural importance.