From Karsevak to Parliament: The Journey of Ajit Gopchade

Ajit Gopchade, then 22 years old, was seen on camera on December 6, 1992, with a bunch of young people, standing atop the Babri Mosque's dome in Ayodhya, just before the crowd destroyed it. At 52 years old, Gopchade will soon be a member of the Rajya Sabha.

In addition to electing Maharashtra's Congress defector Ashok Chavan to the Rajya Sabha, the BJP has nominated "karsevak" Gopchade from the state, perhaps as a thank you for his support of the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign.


The announcement follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dedication of the Ram temple in Ayodhya last month, which signaled the victorious end of the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation and drastically changed the electoral trajectory of the BJP. The highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, has been given to veteran L.K. Advani, who spearheaded the Ram temple campaign.

After completing his MBBS, Gopchade—who is presently the vice president of the Maharashtra BJP—led a group of over 300 young people to Ayodhya for "karseva," or serving Lord Ram.

Following his nomination to the Rajya Sabha, he told news outlets, "I am proud of the 'Ram seva' I completed in Ayodhya."

He admitted to being in the widely shared December 6, 1992, picture of a group of young people joyously standing atop one of the mosque's three domes, but he denied having any involvement in the mosque's demolition. According to on-the-ground accounts at the time, the “karsevaks,” commanded by the leadership of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the BJP, had arrived equipped with the necessary instruments to destroy the mosque.

"I belonged to the thousands of Karsevaks. Gopchade told TV stations, "As active youths, we climbed atop one of the disputed structure's domes but came down as we saw other domes crumbling." He emphasized that as a medical professional, his first responsibility was to preserve the lives of the kids he was guiding.

Gopchade said that he was greatly influenced by Hindutva in 1992 despite not being connected to any party or organization. He said that his youth-related contribution to the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign was organizing "Ram shila pujan" in rural Maharashtra.

In spite of what he said, Gopchade had been intimately linked to the RSS from his time as a student and had been instrumental in the propagation of Hindutva throughout his tenure as a physician. After completing his MD at a government medical institution, he joined the BJP and functioned as the coordinator of the party's physicians' cell. He was then elevated to the position of party vice-president.

Because of his capacity to organize and his proactive involvement in setting up medical camps during COVID-19, the BJP has suggested that he run for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections in May 2020. But at the last minute, his name was omitted.

With a greater visibility now, Gopchade will soon be seen in the Upper House of Parliament mingling with the BJP's top central leadership.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.