The BJP’s defeat in Ayodhya, a sacred Hindu place due to the birth of deity Rama, came as a shock for the BJP. This defeat was shocking at a place where the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir took place a few months ago. The BJP ran its campaign in the name of development projects, but it backfired as the residents were disappointed by the land grabbing, transaction regulations, bureaucratic dominances, and traffic diversion policies of the BJP in urban areas.
The people also experienced a sense of insecurity. The Ayodhya failure cannot be viewed as a failure in one constituency rather it can be perceived as a failure of the Hindutva ideology of the BJP. This failure depicts the miserable failure of politics over the Ram Temple and saffron card in Ayodhya.
The Ayodhya failure cannot be viewed as a failure in one constituency; rather, it can be perceived as a failure of the Hindutva ideology of the BJP.
Locals had resentments regarding the development of Ram Temple in which the contracts were given to the outside contractors. They were not accommodated in any manner. As a local remarked, the devotion to Ram Mandir is in place, but in its name, our livelihood has been taken away from us. A BJP member also confessed that even the construction of the Ram temple didn’t give us a winning position in Ayodhya.
This depicts locals who preferred socio-economic progress over religious symbolism. In addition to this, under the BJP government, there were multiple incidents of land grabbing in Ayodhya. As per reports of the Times of India, there were 40 colonizers in Ayodhya who illegally grabbed the land and started their development projects there.
The idea of constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya was a yearning desire of the Hindu nationalists since the 1930s. A boat that kept the boat of the RSS sailing for decades the fruits of which were reaped in 2014 and 2019. However, for every political dream, there is a limit and for the BJP, the 2024 stumping defeat at Ayodhya symbolized the people’s whims. This failure depicts that the people of India have not helped the opposition to win rather it had given its verdict of standing with the secular and democratic ethos.
They voted against majoritarianism and communal practices of the BJP against religious minorities. Moreover, the construction of the Ram temple which was a source of religious affinity for the Hindus who make up a big chunk of the Hindu population was not enough for the Indians. They have voted for “economic prosperity” over “religion card” and “Saffronisation”. In the upcoming state elections in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, if the BJP persists with its polarizing politics and resorting to slogans such as “infiltartratos” for the Muslims and otherization of the lower castes, it will have to walk a tightrope in securing the majority.
Locals had resentments regarding the development of Ram Temple in which the contracts were given to the outside contractors. They were not accommodated in any manner.
This election also makes me foresee an even more miserable defeat of the BJP with more than 63 seats in the next elections, if Modi will not give up on its anti-minority practices. The upcoming elections of the Northern states of India may be another shocker for Modi due to its discrimination politics against minorities and many other such defeats would be written in the BJP’s fate if it does not give up on its ongoing communal behaviour.
The results of the Indian elections of 2024 have shown that the citizens have rejected the politics of hatred and communalism. They are more content with the democratic nature of Indian society where all communities can grow and flourish together. The BJP’s failure in Ayodhya points towards the leaning of the Indian citizens towards socio-economic development rather than religion-based politics.
The results of Indian elections of 2024 have shown that the citizens have rejected the politics of hatred and communalism.
If Hindutva-led ideology manages to retain the discriminating attitude towards different communities, the next elections will present an even more devastating picture for the BJP. It will result in even more miserable failure in future if India continues to treat their minorities in a derogatory way, moreover, great powers would not let India flex its muscles beyond a certain limit therefore, it has to put a pause on its anti-minorities endeavours if it aims to preserve its status-quo in India in the future.
The author is currently pursuing an MPhil in international relations from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad. She is a researcher at Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI). She can be reached at iqra82977@gmail.com