- Akhilesh Yadav challenges CM Yogi for Ayodhya 2027 polls.
- Ayodhya seat crucial for UP elections due to Ram Temple.
- BJP faces heat over Ram Mandir donation theft allegations.
UP Elections 2027: A fresh verbal spat has unfolded between Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over contesting the upcoming assembly elections from the Ayodhya seat. This has brought attention back to the temple seat, two years after the BJP lost the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency to the SP in the 2024 elections.
The spat began after the SP chief, on October 8, challenged CM Yogi to contest the 2027 polls from Ayodhya and announced an upcoming visit to the Ram temple with party leaders.
“This time, not just Ayodhya but the people of the entire state will not spare those who have stolen dharm-dhan (religious donations),” the former CM said.
In response, CM Yogi, on October 10, accepted the challenge and urged Akhilesh to enter the race himself instead of fielding other MPs.
"Aap bhi Ayodhya se ladiye… Main bhi Ayodhya se namankan karta hun…." Chaliye ek baar kismat aazma lete hain…ladai chelon se kyon… Ladai amne samne honi chahiye.''
‘Let’s see who holds more mettle,’ he added, emphasising that Ayodhya was a sacred religious site whose development remains a priority for the state government.
By Sunday, Yadav ruled out contesting from Ayodhya, stating that his party's candidate was already set and that he had multiple seat options available. Akhilesh is currently a Lok Sabha MP from Kannauj, while Adityanath represents the Gorakhpur Urban seat in the assembly.
Akhilesh added that his party had already fielded Tej Narayan Pandey, alias Pawan Pandey for the seat.
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Why Is Temple Seat Crucial for UP Polls?
The temple seat is really important for the UP polls because the Ayodhya seat holds significance, as the Ram Temple has remained a focal point of the politics for decades, especially for the BJP.
Ram Temple has long been a pillar of the BJP’s political identity. However, the SP’s 2024 victory in the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat (Ayodhya) came as a major setback for the ruling party despite the temple’s high-profile inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that experts believed would cement his legacy and the party's poll victory.
One of the reasons, why BJP lost votes was due to the anger among small business owners over receiving lower-than-expected compensation when their shops were demolished during the temple's inauguration.
Moreover, the BJP government is already facing criticism over the Ram Mandir donation theft, and with the upcoming UP elections, it could be a game changer if the SP wins it again.
According to jagran.com, a total of 67 people were involved in the offering theft. The SIT report revealed that 105 instances of donation theft at the Ram Temple were identified through CCTV footage, which has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties.
Voters are angry about the theft, and opposition parties are criticising the ruling government for it.
Beyond local civic issues, the high-profile seat will once again test the SP’s PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) formula against the BJP’s non-Yadav OBC and upper-caste consolidation.
Meanwhile, SP has fielded Pawan Pandey for the seat, who won the Ayodhya assembly seat against the BJP’s Lallu Singh in 2012 when the SP formed a majority government in Uttar Pradesh. While, BJP has not officially declared any candidate as of now.
Currently, SP's Awadhesh Prasad represents the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency after defeating Singh in 2024. For the opposition, securing another win in Ayodhya would serve as a direct political blow to the ruling party.