India’s leader of opposition and BJP/NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate LK Advani will pay a personal routine visit to Somnath temple in Gujarat on Thursday.

Advani had started his historic Somnath to Ayodhya Rathyatra on 25th of September in 1990 from Somnath temple. Rathyatra ultimately resulted in a turning point for Advani’s political career and BJP’s pan-India rise.

Since then, Advani pays visit to Lord Somnath every year on 25th of September. Advani is also a trustee of Somnath Trust. On Sunday he participated in Trust’s meeting at Ahmedabad’s Circuit house after which talking with reporters he said that Lord Somnath had special place in his life.

As a trustee, Advani will also asses Golden Somnath project. Golden Somnath project is a long term project to make Somnath temple a complete golden temple. Some idols and pillars have already been made golden in Garbhgriha of the temple while work on other pillars and idols is going on.

Somnath is a holy land where Shri Krishna, Chanakya, Swami Vivekananda, Sardar Patel paid their visit. Gujarat’s all the Hindu rulers from medieval time up to now had paid visit to Somnath temple. Medieval Hindu rulers of Gujarat used to walk to the Somnath temple from hundreds of Kms away. Somnath temple was golden before Mahmood Gazanvi attacked and looted it .Sardar Patel had decided to construct a new Somnath temple on the site of old ruined Somnath temple which was attacked and destroyed by Muslim attackers for seven times in the history.(In Photo:Advani at Somnath in his Rathyatra-1990)