The Samajwadi Party stayed away from the Yogi Adityanath government’s idea to put the leaders of all the parties in its publicity campaign in the name of Lord Ram.

The MLAs of all the political parties except the Samajwadi Party visited Ayodhya on Sunday in 10 buses and offered prayer in the newly consecrated Ram temple. Adityanath, who was in Pune to attend a religious function, joined the MLAs in Ayodhya.

UP Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana said: “I had invited all the MLAs to visit the Ram temple. The Samajwadi Party MLAs also wanted to accompany us but they couldn’t come because their party didn’t allow them to do so.”

However, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said: “We are not going to accept any political party or leader’s invitation. It is something related to God. We will visit the temple with our families when God asks us to do so.”

The Samajwadi Party and the Congress leaders had rejected the invitation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra — the trust for the construction and management of the temple — to attend the Pran Pratistha of the Ram temple on January 22. They alleged that it was a personal show of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, Aradhana Mishra — one of the two Congress MLAs in the UP Assembly — accompanied other legislative members to Ayodhya.

“The Samajwadi Party members will visit the Ram temple later,” Mishra said. However, she avoided answering the reporters’ question about whether her presence in the Ayodhya-bound bus was sending a conflicting political message in an election year.

She is the daughter of Congress Rajya Sabha member Pramod Tiwari. There is a strong rumour in the Congress circle that she is looking for a better political future with the BJP.

On Friday, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayan Chaudhary had also shown affection for Modi, who announced the Bharat Ratna for Charan Singh, former Prime Minister and grandfather of Chaudhary.

The ones who visited the Ram temple at the invitation of Mahana included the MLAs of the BJP, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Apna Dal and other smaller parties.

Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said: “The MLAs of the party, which had ordered police to kill the Kar Sevaks in Ayodhya couldn’t muster the courage to visit the Ram temple. However, the mood is upbeat here. Lakhs of devotees are flocking to Ayodhya from across the country every day and thanking Modi for giving them the temple.”

Mulayam Singh Yadav, the then SP president and chief minister, had ordered the police in October 1990 to fire on those who had tried to damage Babri Masjid, which the Hindutva forces considered the birthplace of Lord Ram. A mob of the majority community finally razed the masjid in December 1992 when the Kalyan Singh-led BJP government was in power.