Adityanath said a resolution for the construction of the temple was first passed by the BJP in Palampur as he campaigned for party candidate Trilok Kapoor in the constituency ahead of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.

"Today, I am delighted to inform you from this place that the construction work of the Ram temple in Ayodhya has crossed the halfway mark and by the end of 2023, a grand temple will be constructed after a wait of more than 500 years," Adityanath said addressing a rally in Palampur.

He attributed the construction of the temple, "a historic work" to the decisive and strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The chief minister also campaigned for Lokendra Kumar, the BJP candidate from Anni constituency.

Addressing a rally there, he said India's graph on the global stage is rising and today, no problem in the world can be resolved without its involvement. India has become the world's fifth largest economy surpassing Great Britain, he said.

"It was India that gave free ration to crores of poor people across the country during the pandemic while the BJP workers provided them help. Where was brother-sister duo of the Congress then," he said at the rally referring to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

"Congress is only restricted to one family and concerned about them while for Narendra Modi and the BJP, the people of India are their family," he said. Hailing Himachal Pradesh as the "land of bravehearts" as several youngsters from the state are in the armed forces, Adityanath said,"You all would be happy to know that today our enemies cannot dare to look at us."

And it is so because the bravehearts of the country "conducted surgical strikes inside enemy areas", Adityanath, who has been campaigning extensively across the hill state, told the gathering.

Adityanath said all landmark decisions such as construction of the Ram temple, abrogation of Article 370 and surgical strikes, would not have been possible under the Congress rule as it doesn't care for such issues.

Making a pitch for BJP to retain power in the state, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said under the "double engine" government of the party, the state has witnessed all round development.

Noting that both BJP president J P Nadda and Union Minister Anurag Thakur are from Himachal Pradesh, Adityanath said it shows the importance of the state for the saffron party. Elections for the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly are scheduled to be held on November 12. The ruling BJP is in a direct fight with the Congress.

(With PTI inputs)