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Journalism of Courage
WHILE THE BJP is counting on the under-construction Ram Temple and the party’s ambitious development agenda for smooth sailing in Ayodhya, the SP is focusing on local civic issues such as the need for lower taxes, better roads and a promise of free electricity to win over voters in the temple town.
Ayodhya, considered to be the birthplace of Lord Ram, is the main plank of the ruling BJP’s Hindutva pitch and is set to be a litmus test for it in the fifth phase of the Assembly elections on Sunday.
Ayodhya is among the 61 Assembly constituencies spread across 12 districts that will vote in the fifth phase, with 692 candidates in the fray.
While the BJP is banking on its agenda of “faith, development and prestige,” caste equations and strong anti-incumbency factor against its sitting MLA and party candidate Ved Prakash Gupta could hamper its prospects.
The SP has fielded former state minister Tej Narayan Pandey, who had wrested the constituency from five-time BJP MLA Lallu Singh in 2012. That was also the year when the BJP lost the seat for the first time since 1991.
The past few months saw BJP pull out all stops to woo voters in the Assembly election – the first after the construction of the Ram temple started in 2020. The RSS, too, campaigned aggressively for the BJP. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has visited the town frequently over the past year to monitor the progress of Ram temple construction. The grand celebrations for ‘Deepotsav’ on Diwali over the past three years have put Ayodhya on the tourist map.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday visited Ayodhya to campaign for his party nominee Pandey and other party candidates contesting from adjoining constituencies such as Milkipur and Goshainganj.
This phase of the seven-phase state Assembly polls will also be a reality check for the BJP’s alliance with Union Minister Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal (Sonelal). The BJP denied tickets to its sitting MLAs in four constituencies – Manikpur, Chail, Bara (SC) and Nanpara – to make way for its junior partner.
In the 2017 elections, the BJP won 47 of the 61 seats and its ally Apna Dal (S) three. The SP had bagged five constituencies, the BSP three and the Congress had ended up with one seat. Kunda and Babaganj in Pratapgarh district were retained by sitting MLAs, both Independents.
In 2017, BJP had won with 49.56 per cent votes in Ayodhya – its highest share since 1991 when the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was at its peak. The BJP’s vote share stood at 51.3 per cent in 1991.
In the 2012 Assembly polls, the SP swept 41 of these seats, while its alliance partner BSP had registered a win in seven seats. The Congress had won six seats and the BJP five, while Independents bagged two seats.
Sirathu in Kaushambi district will see a keen contest between Deputy Chief Minister and incumbent MLA Keshav Prasad Maurya and the SP-Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) alliance candidate Pallavi Patel. She is the elder sister of Union Minister Anupriya Patel. The constituency is dominated by Dalits and Patel (OBC) voters. Meanwhile, their mother Krishna Patel is contesting from Pratapgarh Sadar seat.
In Handia Assembly constituency in Prayagraj, sitting MLA and former BSP member Hakim Lal Bind is contesting as an SP nominee and will be facing Prashant Kumar Singh Rahul from another BJP ally Nishad Party. The BSP has fielded Narendra Kumar Tripathi in the constituency, while the Congress has given a ticket to Reena Kumari Bind.
In Amethi, the erstwhile ‘Raja of Amethi’ Sanjay Sinh is contesting the Assembly election as a BJP candidate.
After unsuccessfully contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Sultanpur, both Sinh and Ameeta left the Congress to join the BJP.
The BSP has fielded Dalit candidates in general category seats of Dariyabad and Kursi in Barabanki district where the BJP, SP and the Congress have picked candidates belonging to the upper castes and OBCs. The region has a sizeable presence of Dalits, Muslims and OBC communities.
