After offering prayers at Ram temple, Modi holds road show in Ayodhya
The heart of people of Ayodhya is as large as that of Lord Ram, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his poll time road show in Ayodhya receives enthusiastic response from the people
Amid the blowing of conch shells, a shower of flower petals and vociferous “Jai Shri Ram” chants that intermingled with “Modi-Modi” and “Modi-Yogi” slogans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held his first poll-time road show in Ayodhya on Sunday evening after offering prayers at the Ram temple in his first visit to the pilgrim city since the January 22 Pran Pratishtha (consecration ceremony) of Ram Lalla.
Modi travelled in a flower bedecked motorised chariot as chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Faizabad MP Lallu Singh accompanied him.
The road show covered the around two-kilometre route from Sugriv Kila to Lata Chowk, the recently acquired attraction in Ayodhya, in about 1.5 hours. Welcome points were set up at around 70 places along the route.
Faizabad constituency, in which Ayodhya is situated, goes to polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha poll on May 20. The road show was held shortly after campaigning for the third phase of the election, scheduled for May 7 in 10 other constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, ended.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders said Modi’s Ayodhya road show would have a favourable impact on each of these 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, including Sambhal, Hathras, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Badaun, Bareilly and Aonla, and even beyond for the remaining phases of the seven-phase polls.
“The heart of people of Ayodhya is also as large as that of Lord Ram. My gratitude to the people for being part of my road show,” Modi posted on X.
Modi’s mega road show was his second successive one after Saturday’s equally impressive similar campaign event in Kanpur.
This was his second road show in Ayodhya after one on December 30 last year but the first ever by any PM in the middle of a general election in the temple town, where the Ram temple inauguration has emerged as a major poll narrative.
A group of turbaned women walked in front of Modi’s motorised chariot, clapping and singing all the way.
Carrying illuminated BJP symbols, Modi, wearing a saffron cap and chief minister Yogi Adityanath, kept smiling and waving at the people who had lined up on both sides of the road and greeted the PM with a shower of petals.
Flowers were also showered on Modi from most of the homes and shops on the route even as Special Protection Group personnel kept wiping the chariot’s windscreen every now and then as it got covered with flowers.
This was Modi’s third Ayodhya visit in four months since December-end and party leaders appeared elated by the response to his road show that would also refresh the January inauguration of Ram temple in the public mind and put the focus on the BJP’s oft-repeated charge of mainstream Opposition leaders skipping the inauguration invite due to “vote bank” considerations.
Earlier, soon after landing at Ayodhya’s Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Modi, along with Adityanath who greeted him on arrival, visited the Ram temple, where after a ‘darshan’, he also supervised the developments.
Thereafter, the road show started as commoners and BJP workers, wearing caps that read “Modi ki guarantee, Modi ka parivar,” kept raising chants.
Women held cut-outs of Modi and some of them said they had come to visit the Ram temple but stayed back on hearing of the road show.
“There are so many of them who stayed back to watch Modi ji. His craze is absolutely unbelievable,” said Ayodhya mayor Girish Pati Tripathi. Many Muslims from Ayodhya were also seen welcoming Modi.
“There has never been any Hindu-Muslim issue in Ayodhya and we all are proud that Ayodhya has emerged as a global tourist hotspot,” said Shoaib Khan, a shopkeeper close to the Ayodhya temple.
Several Ayodhya saints like Mahant Raju Das and Mahant Dharam Das were seen seated among the crowd for the road show even as many others kept blowing conch shells with chants of Jai Shri Ram.
Political experts admitted to the power of Modi’s Ayodhya show.
“PM Modi is a charismatic leader and each gesture of his has a high recall value. Him coming to Ayodhya for a roadshow for the first time since the consecration ceremony has its own meaning and definitely it would refresh the January 22 temple inauguration memories,” said professor Manuka Khanna of Lucknow University’s political science department.
Beyond Ayodhya, the BJP is also looking at this road show to power the party’s appeal in at least nine other Lok Sabha seats in the Ayodhya-Devipatan region, including key ones like Amethi, Sultanpur, Barabanki, Ambedkar Nagar, Kaiserganj, Shravasti and Bahraich.
“Why only a few seats, the message from this road show will be heard across the country. Then again, its impact will be felt globally as Ayodhya under PM Modi’s rule is now attracting global attention,” said BJP’s Ayodhya lawmaker Ved Prakash Gupta.
In the last 35 days, Modi has held eight rallies and three road shows to fuel the BJP’s preparations in Uttar Pradesh, which sends the maximum 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha and hence is crucial to the party’s overall plans.
“This Modi show from Ayodhya will unify Hindus and foil the plans of the Opposition that is flagging the caste census pitch to divide Hindus on caste lines. Hindutva and Modi are huge unifying factors and that is why this Modi show is very significant as people are hardly bothered about candidates for everywhere the vote is for Modi,” said a BJP functionary.
‘The route of the road show has been divided into 40 blocks and people from different walks of life wearing traditional costumes are attending,” local BJP leaders said
For security reasons, the police divided the area into different zones, sectors and sub sectors, Ayodhya senior superintendent of police Raj Karan Nayar said.
The Ayodhya temple gate number 11 from where PM Modi entered for darshan was decorated with flowers as was the entire roadshow route that was also lined up with party flags and Modi cut-outs even as anti-terror squad (ATS) commandos along with police and intelligence agencies kept a close watch on the security preparedness. At the temple, Modi was seen prostrating before the Ram Lalla idol.