On 22nd January, the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony was a day recorded in history, as Hindus worldwide saw it as a triumph of their faith. People celebrated the day like a festival, with schools and colleges declaring it a holiday while some universities live-telecasted the event. Some business offices were also closed for the day.
The streets of my place in Uttar Pradesh were decorated as if it was Diwali, the most popular Hindu festival with diyas and lights all over. There were Saffron colour flags on most of the houses. Bike rallies were moving with chants of Jai Shree Ram on the streets. The crowd had gathered near an electric shop, which had placed an LED screen outside for the crowd to watch the live consecration broadcasted by a news channel.
The ‘Akshat’ (sacred rice) from the Ram Temple was distributed across villages of Hindi heartland states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, among others, with villages performing special ‘havans’ and pujas. Its impact on the Hindu community cannot be neglected.
Why was it Politically Significant?
The consecration ceremony was held just a few months before the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls. It was seen as a political move by many political parties and independent political commentators because it was the long-due poll promise by the ruling party. The Ram Mandir matter, over time, had become a sentimental issue for the majority. Therefore, the opposition could also not question the move, giving an edge to the BJP-led NDA.
Also, invitations to the leaders of the opposition created a dilemma in parties regarding whether to attend it or not. However, most of the opposition parties decided to restrain from going. This move might go against the popular sentiments, but if they attended, their core voters could be affected; it was a lose-lose game.
BJP Nationalism vs. Opposition Socialism
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent statement hints that the party wants to lure the OBC votes by discussing Social Justice. Mr Gandhi, in a recent rally, was heard asking a reporter if his owner was from a backward class. He said, “Kya wo OBC hai? Nahin. Kya wo Dalit hai? Nahin (Is he OBC? No. Is he Dalit? No).”
Apart from this, Rahul, in another rally, was found asking how many of the Supreme Court judges are from OBC. Gandhi is also raising the issue of caste-based census across the country. At the same time, the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party has its problems and accomplishments to showcase to the public, like development and other Hindutva agenda such as the building of the Ram Mandir, removing Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, National Register of Citizen and others.
Can Rahul Nyay Yatra impact the polls?
The poll results of the recent assembly election suggested that the last Bharat Jodo Yatra had a minimal impact on polling states. In the already polarised environment after the Ram Mandir’s consecration, Rahul Gandhi has little left to influence votes. However, a recent rally during the Yatra at Prayagraj attracted a massive crowd of students preparing for competitive exams. But if this crowd converts into votes, it will be only known after polls.
Also, after Sonia Gandhi enters the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, her Raibareli seat will likely be contested by either Rahul or Priyanka. It will be interesting to know if Rahul contests from Amethi, a seat he used to represent in Lok Sabha before getting defeated by Smriti Irani of the BJP in the last election.
Considering the following factors, it will be interesting to see if Congress gets more robust with the poll or will face a bow again in the hands of the BJP.