Lucknow: The Bharatiya Janata Party is mobilizing all its resources in Ayodhya to retain the Mayoral seat as its prestige is at stake in this temple town.
The party is facing opposition on the prestigious Mayoral seat and in 60 wards across the city. In the last civic polls, BJP’s Mayoral candidate Rishikesh Upadhyay was barely able to defeat the Samajwadi Party’s Gulshan Bindhu, a transgender activist, by a slender margin of just 3601 votes. Upadhyay secured 44,642 votes against Bindu’s 41,041 votes. Out of 60 wards, BJP won in 30 in 2017.
This time, resentment among the local cadre has made the battle tough for the BJP in Ayodhya. This resentment could dent the BJP’s Mayoral candidate Mahant Girishpati Tripathi’s winning prospects.
Tripathi is a priest in a local temple in Ayodhya and before 2017 he was a Congress leader.
BJP rebel Sharad Pathak was also a contender for the Mayoral seat. When the party denied him the ticket, Pathak fielded his wife Anita as an independent candidate.
Tripathi’s main contender is Samajwadi Party’s Ashish Pandey.
BJP candidates in contest in 60 wards of Ayodhya for corporators’ seats are also facing stiff opposition from rebels. These rebels could pull down the BJP’s 30-seat strength.
Consequently, the RSS top brass and the BJP leadership have roped in seasoned leaders of the state to pacify the disgruntled party workers in Ayodhya.
“If the Ram temple remains the fulcrum among voters, the BJP will be able to retain the Mayoral seat and might also improve its victory margin. Otherwise, retaining the seat could prove difficult this time for the BJP,” said a political analyst.
However, in the last election the Ram temple issue could not work for the BJP candidates contesting for the corporators’ seats in 60 wards of the city.
“At this micro level (wards), the Ram temple issue might not be able to help the BJP candidates and rebels will further dent party candidates,” he added.
The Yogi Adityanath government had constituted Ayodhya and Mathura –Vrindavan municipal corporations after the BJP formed the government in the state in March 2017. Ayodhya goes to poll in the second phase of voting on May 11. Counting of votes will take place on May 13.
BJP MP from Ayodhya Lallu Singh shrugs off opposition of party candidate as irrelevant. “The BJP will not only retain the Mayoral seat but also win by a considerable margin,” said Singh.
What could turn the tide in BJP’s favour?
Resentment in Samajwadi Party and Congress against their Mayoral candidates could help the BJP candidate.
“There is resentment in the local unit of the Samajwadi Party against its candidate Ashish Pandey. The same is the case with Congress candidate Pramila Rajput,” said a local political observer of Ayodhya.
“If Mahant Girishpati Tripathi is able to win over disgruntled workers of the Samajwadi Party and Congress, the BJP’s victory is sure with a considerable margin,” he added.
Tripathi’s local following and student politics in his college days might also help him ward off the challenge from his opponents.
