AYODHYA IN A NEW AVATAR

UP is making the Mandir city a model of development

- Avaneesh Mishra

ITS 2024 ELECTORAL LOSS AT AYODHYA, which dominates the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency, was like a hit to the solar plexus for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It came within months of the Ram temple inauguration. Inside the party, it produced a deep rethink: how to reassert Ayodhya's political centrality? The soul-searching has yielded a new hybrid model. Call it reinforcing faith with hard, material development. The Yogi Adityanath government has gone about it with some urgency, treating the city not only as a pilgrimage centre but as the showcase of its infrastructure thrust.

On November 25, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted the dharma dhwaja on the 161-foot