Surprise and Resurgence

The first half of the year witnessed a big surge of Hindutva which ebbed a few months later as the BJP faced a setback in the Lok Sabha polls. The second half saw a recalibration of strategy with markedly different results

- Rajesh Kumar Singh

[e-mail] The year 2024 was marked by interesting phenomena on the political front in Uttar Pradesh.

The first half of the year witnessed a big surge of Hindutva, culminating in the grand opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22. The Opposition parties -- the Samajwadi Party and the Congress -- were projected as anti-temple for boycotting the consecration ceremony.

Within a few months, it was time for the long-drawn Lok Sabha elections which began in April and concluded in June. By then, the Hindutva wave had started to ebb. Instead, the Opposition's 'caste census' and 'Constitution in danger' planks were gaining prominence. This development had a bearing on the fortunes of the parties in the polls.

The Samajwadi Party surprised pollsters by emerging as the single-largest party in the state. It won 37 Lok Sabha seats. The 6 seats won by the Congress took the INDIA bloc tally to 43. The BJP suffered a big setback as its Lok Sabha tally in U.P. was reduced to 33 in 2024 from 62 in 2019 and 71 in 2014. The defeat of the BJP in Faizabad Lok Sabha seat, where Ayodhya is located, came as a major setback for the party. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that PDA halted the BJP's temple chariot.