Days after Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance’s remarkable turnaround in Uttar Pradesh, where they won 43 of the 80 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday listed reasons for the BJP’s debacle in the state, especially its loss in Faizabad seat which houses the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.
The BJP had heavily relied on the temple card across the country during the elections but Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram, voted against the party.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Akhilesh, said the “BJP destroyed the poor for a sacred thing” by snatching their land and lodging false cases against them.
“The truth is that the BJP would have lost even more seats in Uttar Pradesh. I thank the people of Ayodhya,” said the SP chief.
“You would have seen the pain of Ayodhya from time to time. They were not given adequate compensation for their land, injustice was done to them, their land was not acquired at par with the market price, you snatched their land forcibly by slapping false cases against them…you destroyed the poor for a sacred thing. That is why, I think people of Ayodhya and neighbouring areas voted against the BJP,” he added.
The BJP’s focus on the construction of the Ram temple and the campaign surrounding the consecration of Ram Lalla’s idol in January, just before the Lok Sabha polls, failed to produce the desired results.
Despite BJP veteran Lallu Singh’s candidacy in Faizabad, the parliamentary constituency including Ayodhya, he suffered defeat at the hands of Samajwadi Party’s Awadesh Prasad by a margin exceeding 54,000 votes. Prasad, a nine-time MLA and a founding member of the SP, clinched victory following a tightly contested battle.
Despite the BJP’s attempts to highlight progress in and around Ayodhya following the construction of the temple, this narrative boomeranged. The city’s redevelopment posed numerous challenges for residents, including barricades, increased police presence, traffic diversions, and bureaucratic control.
In rural areas, villagers felt a growing sense of insecurity, while in urban centers, property transactions faced restrictions, and notifications for land acquisition hinted at further expansion. Despite recognising these concerns, the local BJP leadership lacked the authority to effectively address them.
Prasad’s triumph as a Dalit candidate underscores the significant backing he received from over 2.5 lakh Passis in the region. The SP’s strategic move to nominate Prasad for a general seat proved effective, overshadowing the BJP’s narrative on the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The election setback also mirrors the sentiment encapsulated in the SP slogan “Na Mathura, Na Kashi, Abki Baar Awadhesh Pasi,” indicating a shift in voter priorities from the BJP’s religious rhetoric towards broader socio-economic issues.
With inputs from agencies
