Ram temple issue may not help BJP in UP elections, say experts

The destruction of the 16th-century mosque in the town of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh was a break-point in the Hindu-Muslim fabric of the nation. BJP took the advantage, created riots and divided people in the name of Masjid and Mandir.

Now once again BJP and RSS trying to gain support by vowing to build Ram Manddir. Opposition parties blame BJP for raking up the issue with an eye on Uttar Pradesh election.

RSS chief’s statement that he wants to see the temple constructed in his lifetime has given fodder to the saffron brigade as it is gearing up for the 2017 assembly election.

However BJP defeat in the Bihar assembly election shows that now People will not get divided on basis of religion.

“No issue works for the second time in politics. The BJP has used the Ram temple issue again and again. It has tried to reinvent the same in the form of love jihad or cow slaughter and Dadri lynching. But all their dirty tricks failed to bring victory for BJP in Bihar,” says Professor Rajesh Mishra of Lucknow University.

“The youth in general is not able to identify such kind of communal politics. If any two of the three main parties — the SP, the BSP and the Congress — join hands in 2017, the BJP will be nowhere,” says Mishra.

Is the BJP serious about the Ram Mandir or does it simply use the issue to get out of tight spots?The reality is that since Narendra Modi came to power, there has been no serious effort towards the temple.

Soon after the Muzaffarnagar riots and just before the 2014 general election, the BJP was actively raising the issue tryies to gain support from Hindu majority.

According to HT news Mishra’s assertions are not unfounded. A debate on intolerance has already put the BJP on the defensive. The much-hyped wave Modi wave too failed to work its magic in the panchayat elections, and any communal frenzy that was generated in the 1990s died down after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992.

Answering to this, will BJP able to win 2017 election by dividing people on the basis of religion?, Will BJP able to attract youths with Ram Mandir issue?, SP Pandey of the Footwear Design and Development Institute, Kolkata says “The party need to rethink the issue. The youth is more concerned about programmes like Digital India and not about (such) issues”.