Will Ram factor help BJP polarise Hindu votes in west UP?

MEERUT The BJP has fielded veteran actor Arun Govil, known for his role as Lord Ram in the popular TV show Ramayan, as the party’s candidate from his home town Meerut for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. This indicates that the Ram Temple is likely to be a major poll plank of the saffron party in this region.

Govil has his roots in the city as he studied at the government college here. Local party leader Rajendra Agarwal represented this seat thrice in the Lok Sabha polls and was trying for a fourth chance but was denied ticket.

“Fielding Govil from Meerut will help the BJP get the benefit of Ram temple issue in west UP. His candidature makes it clear that Ram Temple will be a major election plank for BJP here,” observed political analyst Puspendra Sharma.

“His presence in Meerut will help the saffron party draw Hindu votes in this region where the party struggled in the previous election,” he added.

The party won by a slender margin here in the 2019 LS polls.

“I am thrilled that I am contesting from Meerut, the city where I was born and brought up and did my studies as well. Streets where I lived, everything is flashing before my eyes. I am feeling proud to serve my people,” Govil was quoted as saying in a report by ANI.

He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Ram temple construction in such a short time. He said, “Ram Lalla’s temple has been built after so many years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done it in such a short time. The motivation and energy of the Prime Minister has not been seen in any other leader to date and he does not appear to be political; he appears to be a hard-working person.”

Meerut, Saharanpur and Moradabad divisions have 14 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP made a clean sweep in five seats of Meerut division (Meerut, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad and Gautambuddha Nagar) and won two out of three seats in Saharanpur division (Kairana and Muzaffarnagar), but was defeated by the BSP in the Saharanpur seat.

The saffron party received a jolt as it lost on all six seats of Moradabad division (Moradabad, Rampur, Amroha, Nageena, Bijnor and Sambhal). Later, it won the Rampur seat in the bypoll after the resignation of SP leader Azam Khan.

The region is also ‘karmsthali’ of BJP stalwart Kalyan Singh who was also linked to the Ram Temple movement. Kalyan Singh was a Lodhi Rajput and votes of his clansmen are in abundance in Bulandshahr, Aligarh and nearby areas. In this situation, the Ram factor will help the BJP polarize Hindu votes cutting across caste lines. The party’s strategists must be hopeful of ending their struggle for victory in seats of Moradabad division, considered a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party, where Muslims are in good percentage.

The BSP was in alliance with RLD and SP in the previous election. With the RLD now with the BJP and Mayawati contesting alone, experts believe that she may have a hidden agenda of supporting the BJP. Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra seems to have polarized minority votes and Dalit votes may also be diverted towards the Congress, which is in alliance with the SP.