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While the comment sparked controversy and gave the INDIA bloc ammunition to attack the BJP, Lallu Singh said the remark was a “slip of the tongue”. (PTI/File)
According to political observers, the alleged lack of compensation for property owners whose shops and houses were destroyed to make way for Ram Path is the first wrong step. But it was the inane comment about “making a new Constitution” by BJP MP and candidate Lallu Singh that seemed to be the final nail in the coffin.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s defeat in the Faizabad Lok Sabha elections to a Dalit candidate from the Samajwadi Party will not be on the prediction list of political observers or psephologists five months after the party fulfilled its decades-long promise to build a big Ram. The temple at the birthplace of Lord Ram.
But the unthinkable happened this Tuesday when voters in Faizabad, below Ayodhya, elected BJP’s Lallu Singh. The two-time MP was defeated by Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad by 54,567 votes. The loss of Faizabad/Ayodhya seats contributed numerically to the fall in the party’s Uttar Pradesh tally from 62 seats in 2019 to 33 now and emotionally to the bruising it received in the stronghold state.
According to political observers, the land acquisition for the Ram Path leading to the Ram Temple and the alleged lack of compensation for property owners whose shops and houses were destroyed during the process was the first misstep that cost the BJP.
But it was the rude comments of MP and BJP candidate Lallu Singh that seemed to be the last nail in the coffin. At a rally in Milkipur in April, Lallu Singh asked people to vote for the BJP because the government “needs a two-thirds majority in Parliament to frame a new Constitution”.
In a video that went viral, Lallu Singh was heard saying that the government formed with a majority of 272 seats “cannot change the Constitution”. “For that, or even if the new Constitution will be created, there is a need for more than two-thirds majority.”
The timing of the comment is wrong in two respects. The first comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to assure voters that no government can change the Constitution. Second, Lallu Singh made a comment about Ambedkar Jayanti – celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Dalit icon BR Ambedkar who headed the committee that drafted the Constitution after India’s independence.
As per some reports, his comments did not sit well with the voters of Faizabad, which is 22% OBC, 21% Dalits 21% and 19% Muslims.
While his comments sparked controversy and gave the INDIA bloc more ammunition to attack the BJP, Lallu Singh said the remark was a “slip of the tongue” and said he was trying to talk about amending the constitution and not changing or rewriting the Constitution.
“I am just saying that to make our country great, we have to ensure that PM Modi comes back to power and we may have to amend the constitution in which we have to ensure that we get two-thirds majority… Modi ji himself has said that Ambedkar cannot change the Constitution even if he comes back, what else is needed?”
Reports also suggest that Lallu Singh may have missed the mark in connecting with voters on the ground, relying solely on the Ram Mandir factor and Narendra Modi to cross the finish line.
On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party played some cards right. You took the bold step of fielding a Dalit candidate on a General category seat and read local sentiments of anger over land acquisition and lack of basic civic amenities beyond the Ram Mandir. More importantly, Akhilesh Yadav held a rally in rural Ayodhya.
The defeat was a personal blow to Lallu Singh beyond the obvious electoral defeat. He remains the first Faizabad MP to score a hat-trick.
A native of Raipur village near Ayodhya city, Lallu Singh started his electoral career as MLA from Ayodhya constituency. He won the seat five times – 1991, 1993, 1996, 2002 and 2007.
In 2014, he entered the Lok Sabha for the first time after winning the Faizabad seat under Narendra Modi. He has defeated his nearest competitor and SP candidate Mitrasen Yadav by a margin of 2,82,775 votes and secured 48.08% votes. Lallu Singh retained the seat in the 2019 elections, defeating SP’s Anand Sen Yadav and Dr. Nirmal Khatri of Congress. The margin of victory in 2019, however, dropped drastically to 65,477 votes.