Political watchers said the opposition does not want to play into BJP’s communal rhetoric, but not addressing the temple could in fact work in the opposition’s favour.
Author and analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay said: “I think the opposition parties are seeing that the Ram temple issue is not resonating in this election as much as the BJP anticipated it.
“The opposition also understands that economic issues like price rise and unemployment is what is resonating with the voters and is actually a very big issue, and which is putting BJP on the defensive.”
Voters whom CNA spoke to agreed, with surveys also showing the lack of jobs and rising cost of living as top voter concerns.
One voter named Yash said: “This time, people will not vote on religious lines. People will vote for development and against unemployment, inflation and price rise.
“The way the cost of living is increasing in the country, people will vote keeping these things in mind.”
COHESIVENESS BENEFITS OPPOSITION
Analysts said fighting elections on people’s issues is proving to be beneficial for the alliance.
Being more cohesive – by strategically contesting seats and minimising vote-splitting – could lead to the opposition denting the BJP’s target of improving its performance from 2019, they added.
A lower voter turnout in the initial four phases of voting, compared to the 2019 election, has also made Mr Modi’s ruling party vulnerable.
Mr Mukhopadhyay said he does not know how campaigning on people’s issues will impact the election just yet, but he noted that the BJP is “very seriously worried” about the opposition.
“I would actually label Mr Modi as the biggest publicist of the Congress manifesto,” the analyst quipped.
“The number of times he has referred to the Congress manifesto possibly matches the number of times any senior Congress leader has done so.”
