Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an election meeting in Ayodhya, the pilgrimage town and the epicentre of the Ram temple movement, and called out to the people to elect a strong government to fight terrorism. Incidentally, this was his first visit to Ayodhya since he became the Prime Minister in 2014. He avoided any mention of the Ram temple in his speech but slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ were raised at the rally.
His election meeting was held at Maya Bazar, a small town about 25 km from Ayodhya, that is part of the Ayodhya constituency. The Ram temple movement that had started in 1989, leading to the demolition of a shrine in December 1992, had seen the participation of a large number of people from surrounding areas and districts, and the issue remains an emotive one even today.
In his address, Modi devoted a large part of his speech to the threat of terrorism and the need for a strong government. He said his government had taken a tough stand against terrorism. He said a weak government could not take tough action against terrorists. He mentioned the multiple explosions in Sri Lanka a few days ago and said a situation prevailed in our country before 2014. He also reminded the people that Faizabad had seen bomb explosions related to terrorist acts some years ago, but there had been no terror attack in the last five years. The fight against terrorism, he added, must continue and only a strong government could do it.
He also talked about the successful organisation of the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, and the large-scale Diwali celebration in Ayodhya last year, and said these events had received widespread appreciation all over the world. Modi also kept up his attack on the SP-BSP alliance, terming it an alliance of convenience.
Akhilesh Yadav also addressed an election meeting in Barabanki district, adjoining Faizabad, and continued his attack on Modi and the BJP. Polling for 14 seats including Faizabad (which includes Ayodhya) is scheduled in the fifth round on May 6.
The constituencies where polling is scheduled on this day are Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Bahraich, Kaiserganj and Gonda. Of these, the BJP had won all except Rae Bareli and Amethi in the 2014 election.
The issue of Ram temple has been an emotive one in the state but with the matter of the ownership of the disputed land having been referred to mediation by the Supreme Court, political parties have been avoiding making any direct mention to the temple construction. In recent weeks too, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had visited Ayodhya on her election tour but had avoided any mention of the issue, and did not visit the disputed site also. During the campaign for the 2014 election, Modi had visited Ayodhya but did not offer prayers at the makeshift temple.