India’s most politically crucial state, Uttar Pradesh,, heating up with election dates, is an ideal backdrop for the ‘Ramayana’ theme in the election atmosphere.
The continued focus on the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in the western UP with 80 Lok seats has made it the epicenter of polarizing conditions in the recent elections. Of all the speeches delivered by the BJP politicians, it is common to hear the name ‘Ram’ mentioned, as they hope to attract Hindu voters with this tactic.
Muzaffarnagar district has suffered the brunt of recent communal riots, and a top BJP leader emphasized that it will heal wounded Hindu pride through the construction of a Ram Temple. His thrilling words were overwhelmed with euphoric vibes, crowning him the greatest speaker ever.
But on the other hand, political parties opposing the relevance of religion in politics can create cracks in the social fabric. A Samajwadi Party leader reciprocated the verbal assault on the temple issue, highlighting that development should be the main poll agenda.
The caste arrangements were thoroughly muddled after 2017’s assembly polls, which won ‘the mighty’ like SP and BSP not because of the Modi wave but because they became associated with Modi himself. The Yadav-Jatav voters, generally seen as a land base of the SP, which is the core BJP support base now, are believed to be communalizing the attack in the rural areas.
Surveys that point out that as long as the name ‘Ram’ is around, people will depend on it, and parties are aware by bringing up this name, chances of altering everyone’s opinion to vote for them arise. As the storm is gathering momentum, an interesting question will tell us whether Goddess Durga’s name is still a mace in UP, which has long been considered the thermometer of the general election.
