Bihar Elections: Sita Mandir seen as BJP’s tool to influence across caste groups in state

The foundation stone for the grand Sita temple in Bihar has been laid at Punauradham, with construction expected to be completed within 11 months. The temple, built on the lines of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, will be built in 50 acres with an estimated budget of Rs 882 crore. The temple is seen as important politically, as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) hopes it will positively impact 79 assembly seats in the Mithilanchal and Tirhut divisions of Bihar, which will benefit them in the 2025 elections. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has vowed to maintain security and has criticized the opposition, particularly Tejashwi Yadav and Lalu Prasad.

Patna: The foundation stone of the grand Sita temple has been laid at Punauradham in Sitamarhi district of Bihar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar were present on the occasion. The temple will be developed on the lines of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and its construction is targeted to be completed within 11 months. The temple will be built in an area of 50 acres with an estimated budget of Rs 882 crore, reports Dynamite News correspondent

Political POV

This foundation stone is also being considered important from the political point of view in the election year. The NDA hopes that this will have a positive impact on 79 assembly seats in Mithilanchal and Tirhut divisions of Bihar, which will benefit them in the 2025 assembly elections.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that no compromise will be made on the security of the country. Hitting out at the opposition, particularly Tejashwi Yadav and Lalu Prasad, he said the NDA government was firm in taking strong steps against terrorism.

Credit War Begin

At the same time, the opposition has started a credit war to take political advantage of this foundation stone. The BJP is the single largest party in the current Bihar assembly with 80 seats, while its alliance partner JD (U) has 45 MLAs. At the same time, the NDA's tally reaches 131 with the Hindustan Awam Morcha and some independent MLAs.

Assembly Elections 2020

In the 2020 assembly elections, the BJP had secured around 19.8 per cent votes, while the JDU got 15.7 per cent votes. In the opposition alliance, the RJD had won 23.5 per cent votes and 75 seats, the Congress got 9.6 per cent votes and 19 seats, while the CPI-ML got 3.2 per cent votes and 12 seats. Overall, both the NDA and the opposition Mahagathbandhan had around 36% vote share.

Now in the upcoming election, the BJP wants to influence the electoral equations by raking up an emotive issue like Sita temple as part of its strategy to further expand its vote bank on religious lines. The political impact of this temple and religious sentiment is considered important in the upcoming assembly elections.