How Ram Lalla helped BJP win Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha elections

The victory of Sanjay Seth, the eighth candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Rajya Sabha elections held in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, can be attributed to the support of Ram Lalla. Despite facing challenges, the BJP managed to secure the votes of seven Samajwadi Party (SP) MLAs, which played a crucial role in Seth's win. Seth received 29 first preference votes, while SP's candidate Alok Ranjan only received 19 votes.

The BJP's strategy to identify these seven SP legislators was a joint effort by key government figures, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and ministers Suresh Khanna and JPS Rathore. State party chief Bhupendra Chaudhary and general secretary (organisation) Dharampal were also involved in the process.

The task was simplified as the BJP focused on SP MLAs who had openly supported the consecration of Ram Lalla's idol at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22. A BJP leader stated, 'We approached those MLAs who had strongly supported the consecration event, despite the party's silence on the issue. Many of them responded positively.'


Rakesh Pratap Singh, Abhay Singh, Vinod Chaturvedi, and Manoj Pandey were among the identified SP legislators. After the announcement of the RS election results, Abhay Singh tweeted, 'Voting was conducted transparently. We voted according to our will. After the opening of the Ram Temple, the Assembly Speaker invited all MLAs for darshan, but the SP stopped its legislators. This was not right.'

Similarly, Raghuraj Pratap Singh, founder of Jansatta Dal, became an accessible target for BJP leaders seeking support due to his vocal support for Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Yogi after the consecration ceremony.