New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and sitting MP Lallu Singh lost from the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency, which includes Ayodhya city, the home of the newly-built Ram Mandir, by 54,567 votes.
With over 5.5 lakh votes, Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad won the seat.
Ayodhya and Faizabad cities are in this constituency, which comprises five assembly segments, Dariyabad, Radauli, Milkipur, Bikapur, and Ayodhya.
The BJP had reposed faith in Singh, seeking a third term from the constituency, as Ram Mandir was one of its central poll planks.
The consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was one of the key achievements of the BJP with the party going door-to-door, telling people about its efforts in ensuring the temple’s construction after many years.
Despite Ram Mandir, sources said, an anti-incumbency towards the sitting MP emerged as a major factor as voters kept local issues above national considerations. In 2019, Lallu Singh won the seat by a margin of 65,000 votes over Samajwadi Party’s Anant Sen.
Reel life ‘Ram’ and BJP candidate from Meerut Arun Govil also faced a tough neck-and-neck fight but won by 10,585 votes against his nearest rival Sunita Verma of the SP.
By 8.30pm, the Samajwadi Party had won 23 seats and was leading in 14 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh while its ally Congress had won four and was leading in two seats.
The BJP, which is in power in the state assembly, had won 23 seats and was leading in 10 while its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal had won one and was leading in another seat.
In 2019, the BJP had registered a spectacular performance in UP, winning 62 of the 80 seats in the state. Earlier in 2014, the national party had secured 72 seats, registering one of its biggest tallies.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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