Inside story behind inviting PM Modi to Ram Janmabhoomi Temple's inauguration

New Delhi: With several surveys conducted by the Bharatiya Janata Party predicting a massive loss for the saffron unit in the forthcoming Assembly polls, the party is now banking on the frenzy created by the scheduled inauguration of Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 next year for a victory.

It is understood that a possible loss in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Telangana and Rajasthan Assembly polls, being predicted in a slew of surveys, has forced the saffron unit to rely on the Ram Janmabhoomi issue, again.  

These surveys have forced the party to reevaluate its political strategy and go for utilisation of its core issue much ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha polls, forcing the saffron unit to begin the build-up to the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple inauguration much ahead of schedule.

Sources stated that the step-by-step build-up was to start after the results of the Assembly polls on December 3, keeping an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. However, as the BJP suspects a major loss in the state polls, the saffron leadership has decided to bring its tried and tested electoral issue, the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, back to the fore much earlier, sources said.

The political game plan became evident even as a delegation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the consecration ceremony of the idol of Ram Lalla on January 22 at the Ayodhya temple.

This move is now expected to culminate in mass mobilisation leading towards a long spell of celebrations to coincide with the date of the temple inauguration. 

Sources stated that the BJP’s contribution towards the successful completion of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple will be brought to the fore and be repeatedly raised by PM Modi and other saffron leaders when they unleash a massive campaign push for the polls in five states.

“The voters will be reminded of the 500-year-long struggle of the Hindu community to secure and build Ram Lalla’s Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. They will also be reminded of the struggle in courts and sacrifices of thousands of Kar Sevaks towards securing the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple,” sources added.

The party also feels that the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple issue has the potential to reunite the Hindu voters like never before. The BJP also hopes that the attempts being made in opposition quarters, led by the INDIA bloc parties, to push for a country-wide OBC census and divide the Hindu population of caste lines can also be thwarted by raising the temple issue, sources said.

It must not be forgotten that the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana are being treated by political parties as the semifinal for the 2024 general elections.

With the BJP recently losing its southern bastion of Karnataka, the saffron unit is desperate and cannot afford to lose the forthcoming polls in these five states as it could adversely affect the morale of its cadre. At the same time rekindle hope amongst the opposition INDIA bloc parties ahead of general elections. 

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his third term in office, leadership in the BJP feels that the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple and return to its Hindutva roots may be the only hope for the BJP to maximize its win potential in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.