In Ayodhya, development replaces 'Ram'

Polluted Sarayu and heaped garbage may sway the vote away from the saffron party

The morning bells of hundreds of small and big temples, the chanting of vedic Hymns and speakers blaring the couplets of the Hindu epic “Ram Charita Manas” (describing the life and deeds of Lord Ram, who according to the Hindu mythology was born here) in this temple town camouflage the real aspirations of its residents.

The epicenter of the Ram Temple movement, this Assembly constituency, which had turned into a saffron bastion and elected BJP nominees for the past two decades, appears to yearn for a change.

With no “Ram Lehar” sweeping the constituency this time and the developmental issues acquiring more importance, the saffron party’s rivals smell a possible chance as the BJP sweats to retain its fort.

BJP candidate Lallu Singh has been winning the Ayodhya Assembly seat since 1991 largely owing to the “pro-Ram Temple” sentiments, but his margin of victory has been declining with every Assembly election. In the elections in 1991 when the Ram Temple movement had engulfed the entire nation, Singh had bagged over 51 per cent votes trouncing his opponents.

In the previous assembly polls, Singh barely managed to scrape through by a margin of 5500 votes. His vote share had dwindled to just 37 per cent.

While the BJP has again reposed its faith in Lallu Singh, the Samajwadi party (SP) has played the “Brahmin card” and fielded a former student leader Tej Narain Pandey.

The BSP has given a ticket to a turncoat Ved Prakash Gupta, who had crossed over from the BJP while the Congress has fielded an old party loyalist Rajendra Pratap Singh.

The relatively unknown Peace Party has also fielded a “Brahmin” candidate Rajan Mishra, who is certain to cut into the votes of the SP nominee.

A visit to the holy town, situated on the bank of the Sarayu river, will clearly reveal that its residents have been craving for development. The stinking garbage lying near potholed roads amply reflects the gross civic negligence in the pilgrim town.

 “Ram temple is not an issue any more...like any other place, we also want development,” says Kashi Nath Pandey, a priest from Ram Ki Paidi, on the bank of the Sarayu river.

The youth rue the lack of employment opportunity. “It is really unfortunate that this place has always been identified with the Ram temple move­ment...all other issues have been relegated to the back stage,” he adds. Pandey’s son has moved to Surat for a job.

Though there are two state universities at Faizabad, Ayodhya’s twin town, there is no centre for technical education. People of the town want an international airport, a medical college, a modern super–speciality hospital and a municipal corporation to take care of the civic issues.

The residents of the town feel that their town could be developed as a religious tourist centre.

“Millions of devotees throng here for most of the year from whom the local administration earns a lot of money, yet no steps have been taken to improve facilities for the visiting pilgrims,” says Nageshwar Nath, another priest.
Even the holy Saryu, considered to be the lifeline of the twin towns of Faizabad and Ayodhya, lies in utter neglect with all the waste of the two towns flowing directly into the river.

The water of the river, which is used for drinking purposes, has become highly polluted above normal nitrogen and iron levels, according to the local officials. Many residents of the town feel that the results could reflect the concern for development and might be surprising. A loss here will certainly be taken as an indicator of the waning effect of the Ram temple movement.