The politics of Ayodhya has once again heated up from Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. The challenge of contesting elections from Ayodhya between Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav has given a new color to the political contest before the 2027 assembly elections. When Akhilesh Yadav challenged Yogi Adityanath to contest elections from Ayodhya Assembly seat, Yogi retaliated by challenging Akhilesh to contest against him.
Yogi Adityanath said that Akhilesh should also file nomination from Ayodhya and he will also try his luck from there. Amidst this rhetoric of both the leaders, the previous election figures of Ayodhya are also in discussion. In 2012, SP had won here, in 2017 BJP won by a huge margin and retained the seat in 2022 also. There was a big increase in the vote percentage of SP in the year 2022. On the other hand, in 2024, SP's Awadhesh Prasad created a major upset by defeating BJP's Lallu Singh in Faizabad Lok Sabha seat. In such a situation, the question is how strong is BJP's hold in Ayodhya and what effect can the growing challenge of SP give in 2027?
Is Ayodhya a political arena for Akhilesh and Yogi?
The war of words between Yogi Adityanath and Akhilesh Yadav regarding Ayodhya has intensified. Akhilesh challenged the Chief Minister that if BJP is confident about its work and claims then Yogi Adityanath should show it by contesting elections from Ayodhya. After this, Yogi Adityanath also hit back and challenged Akhilesh Yadav to contest the elections against him. He said that Akhilesh should file nomination from Ayodhya and he will also try his luck by contesting elections from there.
Akhilesh Yadav raised questions on BJP's position in Ayodhya and claimed that BJP is not finding a candidate to challenge his party's candidate Pawan Pandey. At the same time, Yogi described Ayodhya as a center of faith and said that he goes there not for politics but for development. The rhetoric of both the leaders has brought Ayodhya to the center of the 2027 election discussion.
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SP's victory in 2012, Pawan Pandey had taken the lead
In the 2012 elections, Samajwadi Party's Pawan Pandey had won the Ayodhya assembly seat by securing 55,262 votes. BJP's Lallu Singh got 49,857 votes. In this way, SP won the seat by a margin of 5,405 votes. Pawan Pandey got 28.74 percent of the total votes, while Lallu Singh's vote percentage was 25.93. Five years later, in 2017, the electoral picture completely changed.
BJP fielded Ved Prakash Gupta and he got 1,07,014 votes. SP's Pawan Pandey got 56,574 votes. BJP won by a huge margin of 50,440 votes. In this election, BJP's vote percentage increased to 49.20 percent, while SP's vote percentage decreased to 26.01 percent. The seat where SP was ahead in 2012, BJP took a strong lead in 2017.
SP's vote percentage increases in 2022, BJP's victory margin decreases
BJP again expressed confidence in Ved Prakash Gupta in the 2022 assembly elections. Gupta received 1,13,414 votes and secured 49.04 percent of the votes. SP's Pawan Pandey got 93,424 votes and his vote percentage increased to 40.40 percent. This time BJP's victory margin reduced to 19,990 votes. In 2017, BJP had won by 50,440 votes, but in 2022 its lead reduced significantly.
SP's vote percentage increased from 26.01 percent to 40.40 percent. BJP was successful in saving the seat, but SP expanded its vote base significantly. This is the reason why the previous election data of Ayodhya assembly seat is considered important to understand the contest between the two parties.
Picture changed in Lok Sabha elections also
Ayodhya assembly seat is part of Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency. The results of Lok Sabha elections also tell the story of the changing contest between BJP and SP. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP's Lallu Singh had secured 4,91,761 votes, while SP's Mitrasen Yadav had secured 2,08,986 votes. Lallu Singh had won by a huge margin of 2,82,775 votes. Even in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP retained its hold on the seat.
Lallu Singh got 5,29,021 votes, while SP's Anand Sen got 4,63,544 votes. This time BJP's victory margin reduced to 65,477 votes. Compared to the previous elections, the contest had become much closer. After this, a big upheaval was seen in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
SP's Awadhesh Prasad secured 5,54,289 votes, while BJP's Lallu Singh secured 4,99,722 votes. Avadhesh Prasad won by a margin of 54,567 votes. This result broke BJP's streak of two consecutive victories in Faizabad Lok Sabha seat. These Lok Sabha election results made it clear that while BJP had maintained its lead in 2014 and 2019, SP was successful in leaving it behind in 2024.
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What are the election figures indicating before 2027?
Different trends emerge when the data of Ayodhya Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are looked at together. In the assembly, BJP registered consecutive victories in 2017 and 2022, but its victory margin decreased in 2022. On the other hand, SP strengthened the contest by increasing its vote percentage. BJP's victory margin in Lok Sabha elections also reduced between 2014 and 2019 and SP won the seat in 2024. Local issues, development work, social equations, selection of candidates and voters' inclination can play an important role in the 2027 assembly elections.
After SP declared Pawan Pandey as its candidate, the discussion regarding the contest has intensified. Now Akhilesh Yadav's challenge and Yogi Adityanath's counterattack have given further edge to this discussion. The results of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections cannot be compared directly, as the constituencies, candidates and voting issues may be different in both. Now everyone's eyes will be on what direction the election challenge of the two leaders will take next and what form the political contest for Ayodhya takes in 2027.