Analysing the BJP’s setback in Ayodhya: Decoding the political shocker
PTC News Desk: While the BJP relied on its partners to win a third term after failing to clinch a majority on its own, the party’s unexpected loss in Faizabad, the home of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, has made headlines and generated discussion.
In actuality, the BJP’s loss occurred barely four months after the new Ram Lalla idol was dedicated in the opulent Ayodhya temple. Awadhesh Prasad of the Samajwadi Party defeated Lallu Singh of the BJP by 54,500 votes.
The surprising defeat of the BJP in the temple town has been ascribed to a number of factors. Some of the causes are the BJP’s alienation of OBCs and Dalits, Akhilesh Yadav’s attempt to create a strong caste system, and villagers’ discontent over not receiving compensation for land taken over for the development of Ayodha. A section also connected the party’s Delhi and Lucknow sections’ discord to the BJP’s defeat.
HOW THE BJP’S ‘400 PAAR’ SLOGAN WAS DEFEATED
Furthermore, one of the seats with the biggest caste equation in support of the Samajwadi Party’s voter base is Faizabad. Additionally, the Samajwadi Party’s strategy of claiming that the BJP would alter the Constitution in the event of a resounding majority appears to have worked.
In reality, Lallu Singh of the BJP was the first to declare in Ayodhya that if the party won more than 400 seats, the Constitution would be altered. Subsequently, the Samajwadi Party spun a story about the matter, claiming that the BJP intended to amend the Constitution to remove the reservations granted to minorities, Dalits, and people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The topic gathered so much traction that the BJP missed its strategy and had to keep clarifying it throughout the elections.
The Congress and the Samajwadi Party have each won the Faizabad seat twice since 1984. In Ayodhya, the BJP rose to prominence after 1991.
The seat was won three times by Vinay Katiyar, the BJP’s Kurmi and Hindutva face, while Samajwadi Party candidate Mitra Sen Yadav was elected here in 1989, 1998, and 2004.
The BJP replaced its OBC candidate, Katiyar, in 2004 with Lallu Singh. Singh was the winner of the seat twice in a row, in 2014 and 2019. The BJP rode a “Modi wave” to victory in the previous two elections, but as soon as caste took center stage, the party lost.
AKHILESH YADAV SCOOPS THE CASTE EQUATION
The primary cause of the BJP’s defeat in Faizabad is thought to be the caste system. With the largest proportion of Yadavs and Kurmis among OBC voters, Ayodhya has the maximum number of them.
Dalits make up 21% of the electorate, and OBCs make up 22%. The Pasi community has the greatest number of votes among the Dalits. Awadhesh Prasad, the victorious candidate, is a member of the Pasi community.
Moreover, 18% of voters are Muslims. These three communities collectively account for half of the electorate. This time, the OBC, Dalit, and Muslim communities united to give the Samajwadi Party a historic victory in Faizabad.
In addition, there was a great deal of anger among the villagers over not receiving payment for having their lands seized for the creation of Ayodhya.
There were rumors that the residents of outlying villages were not benefiting from the development of Ayodhya or the building of the Ram temple. There were also talks among the residents about how outside merchants were making money while the people of Ayodhya were losing their land to large-scale projects.
Along with losing Ayodhya, the BJP also lost all of the seats that were close to the temple town, including Basti, Ambedkarnagar, and Barabanki. Not only is the Ayodhya verdict viewed as a defeat for the BJP, but also for their Hindutva ideology.