The much-hyped Ram Setu Shila Yatra, which started on Tuesday turned into a major flop with barely 500 people in Ayodhya and about a 100 participating in Lucknow.

The BJP state headquarters in Lucknow wore a deserted look. No party leader of note was present at the Hanuman Setu temple where prayers were offered before the procession was flagged off. Earlier the BJP had announced that all party leaders and workers would actively participate in the yatra, which is to traverse six lakh villages across the country.

According to reports from Ayodhya, about a thousand VHP activists, led by Praveen Togadia, started the procession from Karsewak Puram carrying replicas of Ram Setu. But it seems even Togadia failed to enthuse the RSS and BJP workers.

The Yatra halted at Digambar Akhara, a temple adjacent to Karsewak Puram, and the replicas were kept there for public display.

A senior VHP spokesperson said the yatra will cover about 15000 villages in Uttar Pradesh to mobilise Hindus for the cause of Ram Setu.

Speaking to Deccan Herald senior VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore who is also member of the executive committee of the Ram Janm Bhumi Nyas Trust, said “We are motivating the masses for the sake of the Sri Ram. We want to stroke the same fires that we lit for the Ram temple.”