NEW DELHI: India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party conceded defeat in constituency where inauguration of grand Hindu temple just months ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen as an event that would cement his legacy and party's poll victory.

BJP looks set for heavy losses in bellwether northern state of Uttar Pradesh, as opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress race ahead in more than half of its 80 seats, including in Ayodhya city in Faizabad constituency where Modi inaugurated temple in January.

"I could not protect your and Ayodhya's dignity, there must have been some shortcoming in me," Lallu Singh, BJP's incumbent lawmaker from Faizabad, told party workers, according to footage shared by Indian Express daily.

Faizabad constituency elected Singh twice to Parliament, in 2014 and 2019, when Modi's party swept 71 and 62 seats in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.

Latest trends from Election Commission showed BJP's tally trimmed to 33 seats in state, which has drawn focus of analysts to issues of unemployment and high inflation-two key concerns of voters that surveys showed trumped religion.

"We are very happy with temple but people were fed up with BJP," said Rakesh Yadav, chairperson of Ayodhya Vyapar Mandal, traders body.

Published in The Daily National Courier, June, 05 2024

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