Lucknow: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday raked up the Ram Temple issue and invoked former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as part of its strategy to make a comeback in Uttar Pradesh with party chief Nitin Gadkari ruling out having truck with any party for next year's Assembly polls.
"While in Lucknow, just about a few kilometers away from Ayodhya, we have an occasion to rededicate ourselves to the ideals of Ram and strive for bringing about a true Ram Rajya. We are committed to building a grand temple of Ram at Ayodhya. We rededicate ourselves to the cause of establishing a Ram rajya in Uttar Pradesh and the entire country," Gadkari said, addressing the inaugural session of the two-day National Executive Meet.
BJP's chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said Gadkari also referred to the recent High Court verdict.
"The High Court verdict had said that the place which Hindus believe is the birthplace of Ram Lalla belongs to the Hindus."
The matter is now pending in the Supreme Court.
Prasad, however, maintained that the Ram temple issue is not a political matter for the BJP. He said Gadkari has sought the support of all sections of society for building a grand Ram temple.
Gadkari also tried to strike an emotional cord with the people and the party cadre by referring to contributions made by Vajpayee.
"I had met Vajpayeeji yesterday. He has represented Lucknow seat five times," Gadkari said.
Prasad said Gadkari announced that there would be "no alliance whatsoever with SP, BSP or Ajit Singh's party (RLD) before or after the polls".
"Gadkari very categorically announced that there would be no alliance whatsoever with SP, BSP or Ajit Singh's party (RLD) before or after the polls," Prasad said. He insisted that in Delhi, SP and BSP were friends of the Congress whereas in Uttar Pradesh they put up a " facade of hostility".
"SP and BSP are appendages of the Congress," Prasad alleged. Prasad said the BJP will release on June 8 - Atal Samagra Darshan - a collection of Vajpayee's speeches and writings. This will be released by former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
"We are all missing our great leader Atalji. While we pray for his speedy recovery and good health, we also resolve to walk relentlessly on the path shown by him. In the true sense, he is a politician who continues to be Ajathsatru... an individual who has no enemies," Gadkari said.
However, Prasad maintained that the party realised that it cannot benefit from Vajpayee's leadership due to his ill-health.
Vajpayee's famous statement that "the passage to (acquiring power) in Delhi goes via Lucknow (a victory in Uttar Pradesh) was also recalled by the party.
At one time, BJP used to win 58-60 Lok Sabha seats from the state The BJP reiterated its decision to go it alone in the Uttar Pradesh elections scheduled for next year. In reply to a question, the senior leader said for the Lok Sabha polls, BJP would strive to come to power as part of the NDA and here allies were welcome.
With Gadkari and senior leader LK Advani keen on bringing back expelled leader Uma Bharti into the party fold, the Hindutva and Ram temple issue is set to figure prominently on its agenda for the forthcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
Though Prasad indicated that the Ram temple issue may not find a formal mention in the party manifesto, there are clear indications that BJP will try to make political capital out of it.
BJP leaders feel that while corruption, price rise, development and good governance are catchy issues to attract the voter, the Ayodhya movement still has several takers.
The issue had propelled the party from two seats in the 1984 Lok Sabha polls to 87 seats in 1989. There were formidable gains in the Assembly polls too.
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