Faizabad constituency elected Singh twice to the parliament, in 2014 and 2019, when Modi’s party swept 71 and 62 seats in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state.
Latest trends from the Election Commission showed the BJP’s tally trimmed to 33 seats in the state, which has drawn focus of analysts to the issues of unemployment and high inflation – two key concerns of voters that surveys showed trumped religion.
“We are very happy with the temple but people were fed up with the BJP,” said Rakesh Yadav, the chairperson of the Ayodhya Vyapar Mandal, a traders body.
He said there was anger among small business owners for getting lower than expected compensation when their shops were demolished during Ayodhya’s redevelopment ahead of the temple inauguration.
“People will not always fall for the caste or temple-mosque politics. They also want to see development which is why the results may surprise us all,” he added.
The Ram temple was constructed on orders of the Supreme Court after a bloody, decades-long dispute that in 1992 saw a Hindu crowd demolish a 16th century mosque that existed on the site, claiming it was built on the birthplace of the god-king.
