Dr. Vishakha Srivastava
Ayodhya: Issues ranging from Ram Mandir to Ayodhya’s development could not help BJP candidate Lallu Singh win for the third time in Faizabad Lok Sabha seat of Ayodhya. The reasons being cited behind his defeat include not contacting his voters like before. Local people say that disconnect from voters has also become the reason for his defeat this time.
However, he had won this seat in the last two elections on the Modi wave. In the election survey, people had expressed their displeasure over this as well. Whereas Indy alliance’s candidate Awadhesh Prasad had won the assembly elections from Milkipur even in Modi wave. Being from Dalit community, he got the benefit of polarization of OBC Yadav and Muslim community along with his community. In the last election, the vote bank of Nirmal Khatri of Congress also played an important role in his victory. In this election, while the alliance between Congress and SP strengthened the caste polarization, the BSP Brahmin candidate also cut the upper caste votes instead of benefiting from them. The support of Kurmi and OBC votes also went to the SP camp. Dariyabad, where Lallu Singh had received strong support from OBC and Kurmi community in the last election, this time it shifted towards SP.
His winning assembly constituencies have been Ayodhya and Dariyabad, which this time were not so effective that they could cover the defeat of other assembly constituencies. In Ayodhya assembly constituency, the campaign teams did not even distribute election slips door to door, nor did Lallu Singh himself go to ask for votes. Most of the voters did not leave their homes to cast their votes at the booth. The party also did not make any meaningful efforts to get votes cast. While the reports received from rural areas also had the same complaint that no one came to contact for votes. Factionalism caused damage – Former BJP MLA from Rudauli, Ram Dev Acharya says that Lallu Singh did not come to contact people during his tenure this time. He says that Rudauli’s BJP MLA Ram Chander Yadav also did not campaign for him wholeheartedly. The vote bank with which he wins the assembly elections in Rudauli did not go in favor of Lallu Singh in the Lok Sabha elections. Demolition of houses during road widening also became a reason for resentment – those who lost their houses, land and shops during the construction of Rampath, Dharmapath, Ram Janmabhoomi Path, Bhakti Path and Baskhari National Highway etc. in Ayodhya and did not receive adequate compensation have also expressed their anger against the BJP in the elections.
