Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday announced that he would visit Ayodhya, where a grand temple of Lord Ram is being built, on April 9 with the leaders of his party, and perform a 'puja' at the Saryu river there.

He made the announcement while speaking to reporters here.

"I will visit Ayodhya on April 9 with my party ministers, MLAs, MPs and other functionaries. We will also perform a 'puja' at the Saryu river," Shinde said.

"When 'kar seva' (during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement) was going on, my mentor late Anand Dighe had sent silver bricks to Ayodhya. We have an old bond with Ayodhya and Lord Ram," the chief minister added.

In a big blow to the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena, the Election Commission of India (ECI) in February this year recognised the Shinde-led group as the real Shiv Sena and allotted it the 'bow and arrow' symbol.

Referring to his party's symbol, Shinde said, "We never treated the bow and arrow symbol as a weapon to be used against anyone. Lord Ram is also seen with a bow and arrow, so we feel that we have a major responsibility to perform well."

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