The construction of the Ram temple was a main plank of the BJP campaign across the country. Ironically, the poll pitch didn’t work in Ayodhya itself.The Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency, in which the temple city falls, rejected its two-time MP Lallu Singh in the Lok Sabha polls. Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad defeated him by 54,567 votes.
The Ayodhya defeat comes in the backdrop of setbacks to the ruling BJP across the state – it won just 33 seats this time compared to the 62 in 2019. One reason could have been the demolition of houses to make way for wider roads.
But some local people couldn’t resist invoking the Ramayana for this BJP debacle.
“Who is Lallu Singh when Ravan couldn’t save his Lanka due to his arrogance,” Prajjwal Singh, who runs a homestay, told PTI. He alleged that the BJP candidate didn’t care for the business community, and told them that if he didn’t get their votes, “it won’t be a problem”.
Singh also claimed that the BJP MP didn’t take his campaign seriously.
“The only time he was visible in Ayodhya city was during the roadshow held with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the businessman said.
As a member of the RSS affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Lallu Singh had actively participated in the 1989 agitation for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, where the Babri mosque once stood.
Now 69, he has been elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly five times – apart from the two terms in the Lok Sabha.
Hanumangarhi temple’s Mahant Raju Das too seemed to lay the blame for the BJP’s defeat on the candidate and not the party.
“We had no problems with the BJP. However, the candidate was completely cut off from society, and arrogance had crept into him,” he said.
Asked whether the BJP failed to cash in on the temple in Ayodhya, the priest said, “The Ram temple has always been a matter of faith, and not something to capitalise upon. I am thankful to the people who voted for the BJP, and did not allow anyone to put a lock on the Ram temple.” Ram temple head priest Satyendra Das called the Ayodhya poll result “shocking”, but attributed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third-time victory to the blessing of the deity. “If he has again become the PM, it is due to the benevolence of Ram Lalla.” Ironically, the development and “beautification” of the temple city could have been a significant factor in the BJP’s defeat.