Chief Minister Atishi placed a chair next to her and compared her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal to Lord Ram

Monday marked Atishi’s official appointment as Chief Minister of Delhi. She positioned a chair next hers and compared her predecessor, Arvind Kejriwal, to Lord Ram. She said that, like Bharat did when she put Lord Ram’s shoes on the throne and ruled for 14 years, she would lead the government for four months.

This was the most recent in a string of occasions when the Aam Aadmi Party compared its leaders and administration to Lord Ram and the Ramayana.

“I assumed the role of Chief Minister of Delhi today. I feel the same sorrow in my heart that Bharat felt when Lord Shri Ram was forced to take over Ayodhya’s government after a 14-year exile. Following his assumption of power, Atishi said via video speech that “I will govern the Delhi government for the next four months, just as Bharat ruled Ayodhya by keeping Lord Shri Ram’s “khadaun” for 14 years.”

The AAP began referencing the Ramayana often early this year, even though the Delhi Assembly elections are anticipated to take place in less than five months.

The Ram Rajya Budget was the name given to the government of Delhi’s budget. In advance of the opening of the Ayodhya Ram Temple, the AAP and its MLAs arranged a number of “Sundarkand” and “Hanuman Chalisa” recital performances every Tuesday.

At his Janta ki Adalat meeting on Sunday at Jantar Mantar, Kejriwal compared his six-month imprisonment in Tihar Jail to Ram vanvas.

Kejriwal had mentioned Sita’s agnipariksha even last week when he announced his resignation as chief minister. “Aarop lagaya hai inhone mere upar hai. While Sita Maiya was a student, Bhagwan Ram vanvas se aaye the. It’s Aaj mai agnipariksha dene ja raha hoon (They’ve accused me of something). Sita was forced to go through a fire trial when Lord Ram returned from the jungles. I’m doing the same thing today,” he said.

Speaking at the Janta ki Adalat event on Sunday, Manish Sisodia, a prominent AAP politician and former deputy chief minister, drew comparisons between himself and Lakshman.

He claimed, “They tried incessantly to break me from within and separate me from the party,” accusing the BJP of attempting to put him in prison and keep him apart from Kejriwal. The BJP kept me apart from Kejriwal for 18 months while I was incarcerated because they knew I would never compromise our 26-year relationship. Like Lord Ram did, Kejriwal will keep fighting the autocratic Ravan, and I will follow him in the footsteps of Lakshman. I cannot be broken by any tyranny in the world.

When Atishi, the finance portfolio holder, presented the budget paper in March of this year, she made at least forty mentions to Ram or Ram Rajya throughout her ninety-minute address. Also, the AAP launched the “Kejriwal ka Ram Rajya” social media campaign, which included highlights from the 2024–25 Budget along with hashtags.

In March, Kejriwal said, “We believe in Ram Rajya,” in response to a question about the AAP’s Ram Rajya pitch, which served as the centerpiece of the party’s 2019 Lok Sabha campaign. Even during the administration of (previous finance minister) Manish Sisodia, we had brought up the idea in many budget presentations.

The AAP-led Delhi Government had built a 30-foot replica of the Ayodhya Ram Temple at Thyagraj Stadium around Diwali in 2021, months before the 2022 MCD elections.

Ayodhya was included in the government’s Teerth Yatra program the same year. The program was introduced in advance of the 2020 Assembly elections. Thus far, over 87,000 individuals have taken part in the free pilgrimage program.

“The goal is to win over the middle class voters and those who have begun to support the BJP but are not part of its core base but are impacted by Hindu sentiment and culture,” a top AAP leader said.

“AAP had before also utilized Ramayana as part of their campaign,” said a senior party leader. The AAP is well-established with voters in Delhi. It’s one approach to interacting with the general population.

Another top official said that this is the AAP’s method of reaching out to the public in advance of the next Assembly elections. “People’s feelings about religion and culture are quite strong… In order to increase the size of its voter base, the party is running various campaigns. People may easily be persuaded of the CM’s resignation and the need of Agnipariksha. People will be able to connect to it ahead of the next elections instead of confusing jargon.