‘Tareekh Nahin Batayenge...’: BJP’s Ram Temple Reel Mocks Oppn, But Works as ‘Mandir Card’ Too

‘Ram lalla hum aayenge… mandir wahin banayenge… lekin tareekh nahi batayenge…’ – the new reel by the BJP, based on the Ayodhya Ram Mandir theme, has taken the internet by storm. Within a day of being posted on the party’s Facebook page, the reel has 2,600 likes, 401 shares while it got 3,656 reposts, 13,200 likes and 3,52,000 engagements and impressions on X (formerly Twitter) – and counting.

The reel might sound like a regular one but in the political circles of Uttar Pradesh and for analysts, it is no less than a part of the BJP’s poll campaign and a bid to play the ‘Mandir card’ ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Some analysts also cited this as a full-fledged counter for opposition’s ‘PDA (pichhda, dalit and alpsankhyak) or Dalit card’ in the state.

Other than the general elections, analysts said the ‘Mandir card’ will also help the party in consolidating its vote bank for the assembly elections in five states – Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram.

The BJP’s reel was posted hours after Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust got Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s confirmation that he will be attending Ram Lalla’s pran pratishtha (consecration) scheduled to be held on January 22, 2024. The party’s reel highlights statements by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, as a dig at the BJP for not revealing the date of the temple’s construction.

The reel was posted with the caption: ‘Ram lalla hum aayenge, mandir wahin banayenge par tareekh nahi batayenge’.

In UP, the BJP has already geared up for the upcoming elections, while the prime minister in his Dussehra speech said that the “much-awaited moment is about to arrive, Ram Lalla virajmaan hone wale hain”.

Addressing an annual event in Nagpur, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat urged people to organise small events and light earthen lamps at nearby temples, making it a public movement.

Harish Srivastava, BJP spokesperson in UP, said: “Our opponents always said that we spoke of Ram temple but never mentioned the date. To such minds, I would like to state that the date is now January 22, 2024, when the wait of 500 years will be over and Ram Lalla will be virajmaan. Now, the opponents must tell as to when they intend to give up their opposition and realise that ignoring feelings of the majoritarian community for vote bank won’t work.”

Though the ‘Ram temple issue’ is not new to the party, this being said the BJP and other saffron outfits have turned this into a movement in UP. “The country would witness ‘shaurya yatras’ as a part of the pran pratishtha ceremony, which will be carried out in thousands of villages in UP. The aim of these yatras is to mobilise the crowd, especially the youth and to make them aware of the ceremony and about Sanatan Dharma. Also, there are plans to screen a live telecast of the pran pratishtha ceremony in five lakh villages across the country. I think, the BJP’s mandir card is more than enough to consolidate its vote bank for the upcoming LS polls,” said Shashikant Pandey, political analyst and head of the political science department of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow.

Besides, he said the ‘Mandir Card’ will play a crucial role in turning the tide in the BJP’s favour. “Not only in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, but this card and, especially, its calculated timing will also help the party in the assembly elections in five states…” he added.

Recently, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had accused the BJP of using “Hindutva politics” to “divide” society. He had said the INDIA bloc will uproot the BJP-led government at the Centre next year.

“There is a need to save true Hindutva, BJP’s Hindutva is to divide society and grab power. The INDIA bloc will uproot the divisive BJP government in 2024 with the support of ‘PDA’ (pichhde, dalit and alpsankhyak) in Uttar Pradesh,” he had said.

Some political analysts, however, also said the BJP’s Mandir card will counter the opposition’s ‘PDA’ card, Dalit card or INDIA.

Prime Minister Modi, meanwhile, accepted the invitation for January 22, 2024, and considered himself blessed to be part of such a historical event. “Jai Siya Ram. It’s an emotional day for me. Just met Ayodhya Ram temple trust functionaries at my residence, who invited me for the pran pratishtha ceremony of the idol of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya’s Ram temple. I am feeling blessed, it’s an honour for me to become a witness to such a historical occasion,” he said on X.