'Ram temple the only electoral issue in Ayodhya'

The construction of the Ram temple is the only electoral issue in Ayodhya, the national convener of the Dharma Raksha Manch, a Hindu group affiliated to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), said on Thursday.

The construction of the Ram temple is the only electoral issue in Ayodhya, the national convener of the Dharma Raksha Manch, a Hindu group affiliated to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), said on Thursday.

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"Roads, water and electricity are not issues in Ayodhya. Construction of a grand Ram temple is the only decisive issue for the election in Ayodhya," Gyan Das told reporters in Ayodhya, after casting his vote at the Katra polling booth.

"The Hindutva agenda" would be the only one that would decide the fate of the candidates as far as the Faizabad parliamentary seat is concerned, he added.

Ayodhya, which is part of the Faizabad parliamentary constituency, has around 65,000 voters. It is around 200 km from Lucknow.

Prominent candidates contesting the Faizabad seat include Lallu Singh (Bharatiya Janata Party), Mitrasen Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra (Bahujan Samaj Party) and Nirmal Khatri (Congress).