Ayodhya Voters

The Ram temple issue, which used to pivot elections not only Ayodhya but across the country, seems to have been relegated to "one of the poll issues" in Ayodhya this time as competing parties are raking up development topics.

The Delhi government has included Ayodhya in the list of destinations covered by its free pilgrimage scheme for the elderly as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tries to reach out to Hindu voters ahead of the Assembly polls due next year

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Pandabeswar, West Bengal, Jitendra Tiwari was issued a show-cause notice by the Election Commission (EC) for promising voters a free trip to the temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya if elected, officials said today.

Over 52 per cent voting was witnessed in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh civic polls today with voters, including in Ayodhya, Gorakhpur and Amethi, seen queueing up at the polling stations to exercise their franchise.

On the main arterial road in Ayodhya, Santosh Bhargava lifted a kerosene stove he had repaired and came forward to hand it to a customer. His spine bent after 83 years of a life of struggle in the temple town. I had met him several times from the start of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the late 80s - till the peak 90s. He used to repair harmoniums...

As the twin towns of Uttar Pradesh - Faizabad and Ayodhya - are due to vote on Monday, the road connecting the two is full of political flags of the prominent players in the state, the saffron of the BJP , the green-red of the Samajwadi Party and the blue of the BSP.

In the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Dussehra rally in Lucknow, Shiv Sena today said the celebration of the festival in Uttar Pradesh was an attempt by BJP to consolidate votes in the name of Ram temple for the forthcoming Assembly elections.

The Ram temple issue, which used to pivot elections not only Ayodhya but across the country, seems to have been relegated to "one of the poll issues" in Ayodhya this time as competing parties are raking up development topics.

The Delhi government has included Ayodhya in the list of destinations covered by its free pilgrimage scheme for the elderly as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tries to reach out to Hindu voters ahead of the Assembly polls due next year

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Pandabeswar, West Bengal, Jitendra Tiwari was issued a show-cause notice by the Election Commission (EC) for promising voters a free trip to the temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya if elected, officials said today.

Over 52 per cent voting was witnessed in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh civic polls today with voters, including in Ayodhya, Gorakhpur and Amethi, seen queueing up at the polling stations to exercise their franchise.

On the main arterial road in Ayodhya, Santosh Bhargava lifted a kerosene stove he had repaired and came forward to hand it to a customer. His spine bent after 83 years of a life of struggle in the temple town. I had met him several times from the start of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the late 80s - till the peak 90s. He used to repair harmoniums...

As the twin towns of Uttar Pradesh - Faizabad and Ayodhya - are due to vote on Monday, the road connecting the two is full of political flags of the prominent players in the state, the saffron of the BJP , the green-red of the Samajwadi Party and the blue of the BSP.

In the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Dussehra rally in Lucknow, Shiv Sena today said the celebration of the festival in Uttar Pradesh was an attempt by BJP to consolidate votes in the name of Ram temple for the forthcoming Assembly elections.