Explained: Behind Amit Shah's aggressive Sita temple pitch ahead of Bihar polls

Amit Shah

The Bharatiya Janata Party's grand promise of constructing a Sita temple in Bihar's Sitamarhi that found a considerable mention during the recently held Lok Sabha polls, is acquiring a renewed importance with the state heading to the polls later this year.

In the lead-up to the parliamentary polls, Union Home Minister Amit shah claimed that if voted to power for the third straight term, the saffron party would construct a Sita temple in Bihar's Sitamarhi. Notably, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar had also promised the same when he was part of the Opposition INDIA bloc.

In similar vein, Shah, addressing a Shashwat Mithila Mahotsav 2025 event in Ahmedabad last week, Home Minister said: “We have already built Ram temple at Ayodhya, now it is time to construct a grand Sita temple in Bihar (in Sitamarhi)." Meanwhile, While RJD has attacked the BJP for raking up a religious issue, the chief minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) had demanded more central funds for the Sita temple revamp in Sitamarhi.

Like Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, which is believed to be the birthplace of Valmiki Ramayana's Ram, Sitamarhi in Bihar is believed to be the birthplace of Ram's wife, Sita. Likewise, the NDA government's plan involves setting up a parikrama path (a path to circumambulate the temple) with a roof and sandstone pillars.

According to media reports, a Sita Vatika (Sita's garden), Luv-Kush Vatika (Luv-Kush garden), and a shanti mandap (area for meditation) are also being planned, along with a cafeteria and a parking lot. According to Hindu scriptures, Sita, the wife of Lord Ram, sprang to life out of an earthern pot, when Raja Janak was ploughing the field somewhere near Sitamarhi.

The renovation and restoration project of the Punaura Dham temple in Punaura village in Sitamarhi, which is believed to be Sita’s birthplace, was reportedly first sanctioned in September 2023 alongside a larger project to develop religious tourism. At the time, the JD(U) and the RJD were part of the ruling Mahagathbandhan alliance in the state. The JD(U) switched back to the NDA in January 2024, joining hands with the BJP again.

Now, the RJD camp believes that the BJP’s fresh pitch for the Sita temple might not yield electoral dividends to the NDA. Notably, in December 2023, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced the state government's ₹72-crore plan to redevelop the temple at Sitamarhi. At that time, Nitish Kumar was a part of the INDIA bloc. So, the former INDIA bloc member's proposal to construct the Sita temple in Sitamarhi was interpreted as a direct challenge to the saffron party's endeavour to build the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.

During the Haryana leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra earlier in 2023, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said at a public meeting, "Yeh (RSS) 'Jai Siya Ram' kabhi nahi kehte. Inhone Sita ji ko naare se nikaal diya; utha ke bahar fenk diya. Yeh hamare itihaas ke khilaaf kaam kiya inhone. (This RSS never chants the name of Sita along with Ram. They eliminated Sita from the slogan, took her and threw her out. They have worked against our history) I am telling you (Congress workers) every time you come across an RSS worker, ask them to say 'Jai Siya Ram'. Kyunki, jitne jaroori Ram the, utni jaroori hi Sita ji thi."