Acharya is not just a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but also chief of Hathroj Dham, is an aggressive Hindutva player, clearly carried away by his narrow recent victory. Swami Bal Mukundacharya Maharaj is an aggressive campaigner and had launched a “movement” against the Rajasthan Congress for demolishing hindu temples in Jaipur.
A video that shows #BJP MLA #BalmukundAcharya telling an officer over the phone to take down the non-vegetarian food stalls from the streets is becoming viral on social media.
Balmukund Acharya represents #Jaipur‘s #Hawamahal as an MLA. By phone, he warned the officer that… pic.twitter.com/kqQls4lp3H
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) December 4, 2023
The BJP”s strategy of fielding four Hindu priests in Rajasthan to counter the Congress’ ‘politics of minority appeasement’ appears to have worked for the party as all four saffron-robed mendicants — Bal Mukund Acharya from Hawa Mahal constituency Jaipur, Mahant Pratap Puri from Pokhran, Otaram Dewasi from Sirohi, along with Balak Nath – emerged victors.
Significantly, among the four, Balak Nath is being projected as the “Yogi of Rajasthan” ever since he launched his campaign in Tijara. The BJP has won only once here between the first-ever election in 1951 and 2018.
BJP MLA applauded by supporters
In the video gone viral, Bal Mukund Acharya is seen talking to an officer on the phone and directing him to remove the open, non-vegetarian stalls on Silver Mint Road. In fact, a local official is seen objecting to these illegal actions. Supporters are then observed giving him a rousing applause. Thereafter, reports in the Free Press Journal indicate that stalls have been removed.
The really close victory was of Balmukund Acharya from the Hawa Mahal seat in Jaipur. Congress candidate RR Tiwari was leading till the 18th round and had been told by his supporters to come to the vote counting centre to get his victory certificate reports Times of India. . On the way he was told that he had been defeated by 974 votes. He opposed the result at the vote counting centre and applied for a recount.
“This is the victory of Lord Hanuman and his gada (mace). Since the day when chief minister Ashok Gehlot went to the house of an Independent candidate from the Muslim community, people of Hawa Mahal were resentful of his at of appeasement,” said Acharya, who is a priest at Hathoj Dham on the outskirts of Jaipur. “Sab pe bhaari gadadhari (No one mightier than Hanuman),” he proclaimed.
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