E-Paper
Ram not enough now
Temple issue isn't eternal. That's a tough realisation for many candidates.
When they sported saffron robes and raised the 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan in the 1990s, little did they realise that the Ram temple issue was not an eternal one. Today, as they face rough weather in their constituencies, the realisation has finally dawned.
While former Bajrang Dal leader and now state BJP president Vinay Katiyar was forced to shift his constituency from Faizabad to Lakhimpur Kheri, D.B. Rai — former Faizabad SSP who was accused of abetting kar sevaks during the demolition period — has failed to get renomination from the BJP for the Sultanpur seat. Rai has been left to fight a lonely battle from Faziabad with hardly any kar sevaks to help him.
Katiyar could never have visualised a situation where he would have to make room for his colleague Laloo Singh.
Incidentally, even Laloo Singh is locked in a fierce triangular contest against Nirmal Khatri of Congress and Mitrasen Yadav of BSP. And he is also unlikely to have a smooth sailing in Faizabad, of which Ayodhya is a segment.
The position of other Ayodhya heroes like Ram Bilas Vedanti, Swami Chinmayanand and Mahant Adityanath Yogi is also not comfortable.
While Vedanti is finding it hard to get workers in Amethi, Chinmayanand is facing difficulties in Jaunpur. Both were keen to change their constituencies. While Vedanti was sent to Amethi — instead of Machlishahr where he had lost the last election — the party did not oblige Chinmayanand for whom retaining Jaunpur will be an uphill task.
In Gorakhpur, Yogi has the odds stacked against him. Former BJP minister Shiv Pratap Shukla is sabotaging his election campaign. The alienation of Brahmin votes may also upset his applecart as his opponent is a grassroots worker, Jamuna Prasad Nishad (SP).
The only Ayodhya hero who can be considered comfortable in his seat is Kalyan Singh from Bulandshahr.
With all the Ayodhya heroes sailing in turbulent waters, the Sangh Parivar is worried that their defeat may deflate its most valuable possession — the Ram temple card.
