With Ram Temple And Infra Projects In Play, BJP Makes Strong Push Ahead Of 11 May Civic Polls In Ayodhya

Infrastructure projects worth Rs 30,000 crore are in development in Ayodhya, alongside the construction of a Ram temple.

Yet, ahead of the 11 May civic polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appears to be cautious in the temple town.

The district has a municipal corporation, one nagar palika parishad, and six Nagar panchayats.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made two visits to Ayodhya in a week to canvass for the BJP's "Ram bhakt" candidates. On 4 and 8 May, he appealed to temple mahants to reach out to people in all 60 municipal wards for support.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya participated in a roadshow on the last day of campaigning in a Nagar Nigam area and led a bike rally. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak addressed two public meetings on Monday (8 May) to extend support.

The party is apprehensive as it secured three out of five assembly seats in the 2022 election, with the remaining two seats won by the Samajwadi Party (SP).

With the completion of the Ram temple expected next year, the civic elections have become a matter of prestige for the party.

The temple is expected to be open for devotees before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Aside from the temple, there are various other developmental activities taking place, such as the widening of streets, creating more parking areas, improving the drainage system, and building an international airport.

The railway station has also been revamped, with a planned river cruise on the Sarayu.

However, the opposition could use any potential loss in civic polls as a way to challenge the BJP's Hindutva agenda and development model.

This could prove to be a setback for the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Mahant Girish Pati Tripathi, the peethadhishwar of the Vashishth Peeth, is the BJP's candidate for the mayoral election. He faces Alok Pandey from the SP, while Ram Murti Yadav represents the Bahujan Samaj Party and Pramila Rajpoot competes for the Congress.

The BJP won 30 out of 60 municipal wards in Ayodhya in 2017. This year, their goal is to win at least 50. However, they are unsure of their win in wards with a sizable Muslim population.