Former Ayodhya MLA Pawan Pandey has emerged as the Samajwadi Party’s most prominent voice in the alleged Ram Temple donation theft row, leading the opposition’s attack on the BJP over claims that devotees’ offerings were misappropriated.
Since SP chief Akhilesh Yadav first raised the allegations earlier this month, Pandey has addressed multiple press conferences in Ayodhya, accusing the Uttar Pradesh government of failing to act on complaints of financial irregularities. As the controversy gathers political momentum, attention has once again turned to the former legislator who once defeated the BJP in one of its most symbolic constituencies.
Why is Pawan Pandey leading the campaign?
The Samajwadi Party has chosen Pandey to spearhead its campaign in Ayodhya because he remains one of its best-known local leaders and has previously challenged the BJP on issues linked to the Ram Temple.
Speaking to reporters, Pandey has maintained that the controversy is about accountability in handling devotees’ donations rather than religion.
“This issue of donation theft has reached every household in Ayodhya. People are upset. I am only raising the anomalies before the media and speaking boldly on the matter,” he said, adding that the government should act if any wrongdoing is found.
The SP has attempted to frame the alleged theft as a governance issue, arguing that public trust in the management of temple donations must be protected.
Who is Pawan Pandey?
Known formally as Tej Narain Pandey, Pawan Pandey is a senior Samajwadi Party leader and former MLA from the Ayodhya Assembly constituency.
He shot to prominence in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election after defeating BJP veteran Lallu Singh, ending the latter’s five-term winning streak in Ayodhya. The victory was considered politically significant because the constituency has long been associated with the BJP and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Although Pandey later lost the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections to BJP’s Ved Prakash Gupta, he has remained one of the Samajwadi Party’s most recognisable leaders in Ayodhya.
From student leader to state minister
Pandey began his political career through student politics at Lucknow University, where he was elected vice-president of the students’ union during the 2004-05 session with the backing of the Samajwadi Party’s student wing, Chhatra Sabha.
His political journey was also shaped by his maternal uncle, Jai Shanker Pandey, a founding Samajwadi Party leader in Faizabad and a former Janata Dal MLA from Ayodhya.
Following his 2012 electoral victory, Pandey joined the Akhilesh Yadav government as Minister of State for Entertainment Tax. After being dropped from the Cabinet in 2014 following the party’s poor Lok Sabha performance, he returned to the ministry in 2015 as Minister of State for Forests.
A trusted Akhilesh Yadav loyalist
Pandey remained firmly with Akhilesh Yadav during the Samajwadi Party’s internal feud before the 2017 Assembly elections.
He was expelled by then state president Shivpal Singh Yadav over allegations of assaulting SP MLC Ashu Malik, a charge he denied as politically motivated. After Akhilesh took control of the party organisation, the expulsion was revoked and Pandey was once again fielded from Ayodhya.
The episode cemented his image as one of Akhilesh Yadav’s loyalists in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Not his first clash over the Ram Temple
The donation theft controversy is not the first time Pandey has raised questions about matters related to the Ram Temple.
Earlier, he had alleged irregularities in land purchases by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, allegations that were rejected by the trust and the BJP. His latest campaign continues the SP’s strategy of questioning the administration over issues linked to transparency and financial accountability in Ayodhya.
With the alleged Ram Temple donation theft becoming a major political issue in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party has once again turned to one of its strongest local faces in Ayodhya.
For the BJP, the controversy has become another political challenge in a city that carries immense religious significance. For the SP, projecting Pawan Pandey allows the party to focus its criticism on alleged administrative lapses and accountability without directly taking on the Ram Temple itself.
As the investigation progresses, Pandey is expected to remain the opposition’s principal voice on the issue in Ayodhya.