Will Ayodhya Ram Mandir help realise PM Modi, BJP's 400 Lok Sabha seats dream?

Pran pratishtha of Ram Mandir: Ahead of the Ayodhya temple opening, PM Modi set the tone by visiting several Ram temples over 11 days as part of a Hindu ritual.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the much-awaited grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, in a political triumph for the Bharatiya Janata Party's most popular leader, who is seeking re-election in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being felicitated by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat during the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya on Monday. (ANI)

The Ram temple fulfilled a long-standing demand by millions of Hindus who worship the revered deity and extoll him for the virtues of truth, sacrifice and ethical governance. The BJP, which seized on the demand, has portrayed the Ram temple as central to its vision of reclaiming Hindu pride, which it says was suppressed by centuries of Mughal rule and British colonialism.

Modi and his ruling BJP hope that opening the Ayodhya Ram temple in India's most populated state Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats, will help catapult the prime minister to a record third successive term in elections expected this spring. But with the temple still under construction, critics accuse Modi of a hurried opening to woo voters.

Modi, dressed in a traditional kurta tunic, led the opening ceremony as Hindu priests chanted hymns inside the temple’s inner sanctum. A conch was blown by a priest to mark the temple’s opening and Modi placed a lotus flower in front of the black stone Ram Lalla idol, decked in intricate gold ornaments and holding a golden bow and arrow. Modi later prostrated before the idol.

Nearly 7,500 people, including elite industrialists, politicians and movie stars, witnessed the ritual on a giant screen outside the temple as an Indian Air Force helicopter showered flower petals.

The Centre turned the event into a national occasion by organising live screenings across the country and closing offices for half a day. Saffron flags adorned the streets of various cities where BJP workers and followers had gone door to door handing out religious pamphlets.

Modi has been the face of an unprecedented fusion of religion and politics in the country. Ahead of the temple opening, he set the tone by visiting numerous Ram temples over 11 days as part of a Hindu ritual.

If media reports are to be believed, the BJP is looking at all avenues, including bringing in leaders from other parties, to achieve the mammoth target of winning 400 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections.

At an important meeting recently, BJP national president JP Nadda assigned different responsibilities to various general secretaries of the party.

"This committee will explore the possibility of bringing influential leaders and sitting MPs from other parties to the BJP. The decision will be taken based on the person's influence in the constituency and his or her ability to win elections," NDTV reported citing a source.

Political analysts and critics see Monday’s ceremony as the beginning of the election campaign for Modi. According to them, the pomp-filled display led by the government shows the extent to which the line between religion and state has eroded under Modi, news agency AP reported.

“Prime ministers prior to Modi have also been to temples, been to other places of worship, but they went there as devotees. This is the first time that he went there as somebody who performed the ritual,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, an expert and author of a book on Modi, told the news agency.

The grand Ram temple in Ayodhya is expected to embolden Modi’s chances of returning to power by drawing on the religious sentiments of Hindus, who make up 80% of India’s population.

The run-up to the consecration ceremony, which takes place just months before the Lok Sabha elections, was marked by sparring between the ruling BJP and the Opposition.

Top Opposition leaders skipped the temple inauguration, calling it an RSS-BJP event. But Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh, who is the son of state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, attended the event.