The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Arun Singh on Friday said the Ram Temple at Ayodhya was not the party’s election agenda but an issue of faith that the temple should be built in Ayodhya under the constitutional framework.

Singh had arrived in Ghaziabad to highlight the achievements of the BJP-led central government. Singh said it was some Congress leaders and other opposition parties which are trying to delay the court hearings in the Ayodhya case ahead of the 2019 general elections.

“Congress leaders like Kapil Sibbal, a lawyer, appears before the court to delay the proceedings. The government lawyers on the other side want to expedite the hearings as the case has been long delayed and is presently with the Supreme Court,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a television interview with ANI on January 1, had made it clear that any decision on bringing an ordinance on Ram temple can be considered only after the judicial process is over.

Arun Singh further said the BJP’s defeat in the by-polls in Phulpur and Kairana will not have an impact on the general elections. He also brushed aside the impact of the recently announced ‘Grand Alliance’ between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Chaudhary Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal is also in talks with SP leaders to be a part of the alliance.

“During the by-polls, no national leaders campaigned. Even PM Narendra Modi did not campaign. But the elections are now on the national level and will witness massive campaigning. We have a popular leader like PM Modi and the election will be contested in his name. The alliance by SP and BSP is only to fight PM Modi and it is formed to shield their politicians. They want a government at the Centre who could shield their misdeeds,” he said.

The alliances by regional parties and by-polls in UP have spelled trouble for the ruling BJP in the past. In 2017, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath resigned his seat at Gorakhpur but was unable to ensure the victory of the BJP candidate in the by-polls.

Thereafter, Prayagraj’s Phulpur Lok Sabha seat was vacated by UP’s deputy chief minister Kehsav Prasad Maurya but he too failed to help the BJP candidate retain the seat in the by-polls. In western UP’s Kairana, the seat went to RLD candidate who was supported by SP and BSP. The seat had fallen vacant after the death of BJP leader Hukum Singh.

Arun Singh, when asked about the possible candidate from Ghaziabad for the upcoming general elections, said that the selection will be made by party’s election committee.

“But present MP (General VK Singh) is working hard and his works are appreciable,” he said.

First Published: Jan 19, 2019 11:09 IST