The construction of the Ram Mandir at the site believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya has for decades fuelled Bharatiya Janata Party’s politics. But the saffron party’s loss in Faizabad Lok Sabha seat, where Ayodhya is located, has added insult to the party’s UP injury. Worse is the fact that the defeat came five months after the grand opening of the Ram Temple.
The Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency, in which the temple town falls, rejected its two-time BJP MP Lallu Singh and instead voted in Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad. Prasad defeated Singh by 54,567 votes. The Ayodhya defeat comes in the backdrop of setbacks to the ruling BJP across Uttar Pradesh – it won just 33 seats this time compared to the 62 in 2019.
The solemn look BJP offices in Ayodhya wear now is in stark contrast to the festivities of January 22 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the Pran Pratishtha or consecration ceremony of the Ram Lalla idol in the presence of a host of dignitaries, including senior ministers, chief ministers, governors, business tycoons, sportspersons, diplomats and movie stars. The temple was supposed to be the ticket to Lok Sabha for not just the Faizabad candidate, but party candidates across the state. So what went wrong for the BJP in Ayodhya?
Constitution Comment
One of the costliest errors BJP candidate Lallu Singh made was his comment on “making a new Constitution”. In a video shared widely on social media, Singh is purportedly heard saying that even a government with 272-seat majority “cannot amend the Constitution”. “For that, or even if a new Constitution is to be made, there is a need of over two-thirds majority.”
According to Ram Naresh Tiwari, senior journalist and political observer, the comment started the countdown to BJP’s loss in Ayodhya. The speech gave fresh ammo to the INDIA bloc. Congress leader Pawan Khera pointed out that the remark came days after PM Modi assured the country that the Constitution couldn’t be changed “even if BR Ambedkar himself tried to do it”.
Resentment Over Land Acquisition
Ironically, the starting point of BJP’s loss in Ayodhya came during the land acquisition stage for the Ram Temple.
“Be it widening of roads leading to the Ram Temple or the construction of related projects, scores of people whose families have been residing here for more than 100 years were forced to hand over their properties (shops, homes) to the district administration under the land acquisition drive. This was an issue the BJP failed to recognize but the Opposition addressed,” said Ram Naresh Tiwari.
Local Issues Ignored
The spotlight on the Ram Temple project was so bright that sitting MP and BJP candidate Lallu Singh and the rest of the BJP machinery in Ayodhya failed to see the actual local issues.
“Barring the area in and around Ram Temple, Ayodhya has been grappling with lack of basic amenities. Potholed roads, poor electric supply, improper sanitation, frequent traffic jams… the issues are endless. Despite being a two-time MP, Lallu Singh virtually did nothing when it came to local development. Both times, in 2014 and 2019, he fought elections in the name of PM Modi,” Tiwari added.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, preferred to focus on the rural pockets of Ayodhya during campaigning. Holding two public meetings, one in Milkipur and another in Bikapur, he made the rural voters aware of issues like land acquisition, compensation, jobs being faced by their city counterparts. The feedback from the party’s local unit, of resentment building against BJP leaders in rural Ayodhya, was also spot on.
SP’s Choice of Candidate
The Samajwadi Party’s decision to field Dalit leader Awadhesh Prasad, a nine-time MLA from Milkipur and Sohawal seats, gained the party the crucial support of Dalits, the single-largest voting bloc in Faizabad. Added to the Muslim-Yadav support the SP already commands, the BJP’s fate was sealed in Ayodhya. The Bahujan Samaj Party’s decision to field a Brahmin candidate, Sachidanand Pandey, also worked against the BJP as Pandey ate into the saffron party’s vote share and polled more than 46,000 votes.
In the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency, OBCs account for 22%, Dalits 21%, Muslims 19%, Thakurs 6%, Brahmins 18% and Vaishyas 10%. Akhilesh Yadav strengthened the Dalit, Muslim and OBC combination in keeping with his Pichhda Dalit Alpsankhyak (PDA) strategy for ticket distribution.
Change in Caste Equations
In the 2014 general elections, Lallu Singh defeated SP’s Mitrasen Yadav by 2.82 lakh votes in the Narendra Modi wave. The BSP stood third with 1.41 lakh votes, while Congress came fourth with 1.29 lakh votes. In 2019, when SP and BSP tied up, the gap to the BJP came down. This time, Dalit, OBC and Muslim votes went towards the SP. The Muslim votes consolidated behind INDIA and the bloc also capitalized on the resentment among OBCs, Brahmins and Thakurs towards the BJP.
Will the saffron party be able to course-correct by the time 2027 Assembly elections roll in?
