Before polls, BSP woos Brahmins, says it will expedite temple work

LUCKNOW: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Friday reached out to the Brahmin community in Uttar Pradesh as part of its effort to grow its traditional voter base (composed mostly of Dalits) ahead of next year’s elections in Uttar Pradesh.

The party assured Brahmins that it would expedite the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya if it was voted to power in the polls.

To be sure, work on the temple has gone on apace since the Supreme Court’s late 2019 order allowing the construction of the temple at what many believe to be the birthplace of Hindu God Ram. Brahmins account for 13% of the state’s population but wield considerable influence. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which governs the state, recently inducted former Congress leader Jitin Prasada , a Brahmin leader, into its ranks.

On Friday, launching a virtual statewide Brahmin conference in Ayodhya, BSP national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra raised questions over the funding of the temple and what he saw as a delay in its construction. After the BSP was voted to power in 2007, the party constructed grand Dalit memorials at various spots in the state within one-and-half-years of forming the government, Mishra said. After the party forms the government in 2022, Mishra added, “the BSP government will ensure the completion of the construction of the Ram Temple at the earliest”.

Seeking more transparency in the construction work, Mishra alleged that the ruling party had deliberately slowed down the construction of the temple to serve its political interests.

Reacting to Mishra’s allegations, BJP state unit spokesperson Sameer Singh said: “The BJP government is committed to the construction of the grand temple and work is on in full swing.”