'BJP not to make Ram temple an election issue'

Noting that the Ram temple is a matter of faith for the party, the BJP on Sunday said it will not make it an election issue in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

"It was never an election issue of BJP. Since it is matter of faith for us, we will be satisfied only when the magnificent Ram temple is constructed in Ayodhya," Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Ramapati Tripathi told reporters in Vrindaban on the eve of a two-day meeting of state working committee.

"In fact, other parties had made it an election plank earlier," he claimed.

Ruling out any truck with "opportunist, deceptive parties", he said BJP would contest the elections on its own.

"It will also not join hands with parties that play caste politics," he said.