to a 23-day lockdown of the temple in 2017 by the junta using Article 44 of the interim constitution. A debate about the role of the state toward religion intensified during this time, as well as criticism of the junta's handling of the case. Despite the lockdown, authorities came out empty-handed. Thai authorities had still not found Luang Por Dhammajayo. Regardless, in the aftermath of the lockdown the junta's lawsuits against the temple continued. In December 2017, the temple assigned Phrakhru Sangharak Rangsarit as the temple's new abbot and began announcing the organization of new events. News outlet Kom Chad Luek described this as a "revival" of the temple, but news outlet Thai PBS stated that the temple had not been affected much by the disappearance of the former abbot. As of 2017, the number of followers was estimated at 3 million people. Political analysis The junta's actions toward the temple have been the subject of much debate and speculation among news analysts. Since the junta's crackdown of the temple the question has been raised as to why the state is so strongly opposed to the temple, with many doubting the extensive efforts as a mere attempt to "enforce the law". It has been pointed out that the problems with Wat Phra Dhammakaya formed a distraction for the media from the more serious problems politicians had to deal with, both in 1999 and during the Klongchan controversy. Several political commentators have stated that the actions of the Thai junta towards the temple may have reflected a political need to control who should be selected as the next Supreme Patriarch. The monk who was next in line for the position, Somdet Chuang Varapuñño, had ordained Luang Por Dhammajayo. Selecting Somdet Chuang would have meant a Supreme Patriarch from the Mahā Nikāya fraternity, rather than the Dhammayuttika fraternity, which historically had been the preferred choice by the Thai government and the monarchy. In fact, Somdet Chuang had already been nominated by the Saṅgha Supreme Council, but the appointment was postponed and eventually withdrawn by the Thai Junta, with another candidate from the Dhammayuttika fraternity having been appointed instead. The several hundred coinciding lawsuits against Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Somdet Chuang's connection to the temple were, in fact, eventually used as a reason by the junta to withdraw his nomination. In addition, since the period that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was still in