After the untimely demise of Mahant Narendra Giri last month i.e. during the month of September, the functioning of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad is not the same. After his alleged suicide, there is now a split in the major Hindu body. Seven of the 13 akharas have elected their different office bearers, including the president and general secretary. The big development took place in Haridwar on Thursday.
The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) is scheduled to meet in Prayagraj on October 25 (Monday) to elect the successor of Mahant Giri to choose the successor of Mahant Narendra Giri, who died last month. According to sources, the meeting held in Haridwar was presided over by Devendra Singh Shastri, ABAP Vice President of Nirmal Akhara, who announced the appointment of Mahant Ravindra Puri of Mahanirvani Akhara as President and Mahant Rajendra Das of Nirmohi Akhara as General Secretary.
According to news agency IANS, this surprising move has effectively split the 13-member Akhara Parishad into two groups. However, the first group consists of seven akharas namely Nirmohi, Nivarni, Digambara, Mahanirvani, Atal, Bada Udasin, and Nirmal. The six akharas in the second group are Niranjani, Juna, Avahan, Anand, Agni and Naya Udasin. Baba Hathayogi of Digambar Ani Akhara is part of the first group of dissidents. They alleged that they decided to elect office-bearers on their own. As they were 'under-represented in the ABAP body and often neglected in elections'.
The saints of the group of seven akharas also wanted Mahant Hari Giri, the current general secretary of ABAP, to be replaced. Meanwhile, Mahant Hari Giri termed the declaration of office bearers as 'unconstitutional' and not valid under any circumstances. Interestingly, as per ABAP tradition, if a president dies during his tenure, his successor can be elected from his own akhara. However, Narendra Giri, who died under mysterious circumstances in Prayagraj, was the head of the Niranjani Akhara. It is worth noting that there has been a tussle between the akharas for some time now.