Ayodhya Rejects BJP, Ram Temple No More Important.

[ghulam muhammed]

There were several symbolic messages for the BJP in the election results of the biggest state of the country, Uttar Pradesh which is now all set for a Samajwadi Party government.

One important indication came from Ayodhya, which was the center of BJP’s Ram Mandir movement in the 1990s which catapulted the BJP to power in the state as well as in the center.

The electorate of Ayodhya rejected the BJP for the Samajwadi Party’s candidate. The saffron party candidate Lallu Singh, a five time MLA from the temple town suffered a not so humiliating defeat at the hands of Samajwadi Party’s Tej Narayan Pandey on Tuesday when the results were out. The complexity of this mandate lies in the fact that Singh lost by the margin of just 3000 votes.

The fact that people of Ayodhya increasingly got disillusioned by the BJP’s saffron agenda is evident by the steadily declining vote share of the party MLA. It started with 51.3% in 1991, 38.72% in 2002 to 37% in 2007 and the final defeat of its 5 time MLA from the constituency in 2012.

Interestingly many even in the saffron party believe that the party’s trump card, Ram Mandir has lost its relevance as well as its utility, not only for the country but also for the place which witnessed one of the most politically charged religious movements in the country.

The All India Akhara Parishad chairman, Mahant Gyan Das told media that the BJP has been using the temple issue as an election card and the people of Ayodhya needed more than the temple.

Not only Ayodhya, the fact is that BJP's presence has declined in entire UP. In the 2007 assembly elections, the part had won 51 seats, the number has come down to 47 in the 2012 elections.

In Faizabad district which has 5 assembly seats including Ayodhya, BJP met with huge defeat in four seats. The party candidate was at No. 2 in Ayodhya, No. 3 in Milkipur (SC), No. 4 in Goshainganj and at No. 5 in Bikapur. In Goshainganj, the party candidate could get just 4555 votes while the winning candidate of Samajwadi Party, Abhay Singh got 122235 votes. BJP won only Rudauli seat.

http://twocircles.net/2012mar07/ayodhya ... im+News%29

[qutub_mamajiwala]

Ayodhya’s other side as 'Chhoti Mecca'

Ayodhya may have come to be known as the land of Rama because of the dispute over Ram Janmabhoomi, but it has also been known as 'Chhoti Mecca', a term coined locally to celebrate its pluralist culture.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 629719.cms