Uma Bharti Defends Modi and Yogi Amid BJP's UP Election Setback

BJP leader Uma Bharti recently addressed the party's performance in Uttar Pradesh during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, stressing that blame should not be attributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Despite the BJP's historical ties to Ayodhya and the Babri Masjid demolition, which did not guarantee electoral success, Bharti emphasized that issues like Ayodhya, Mathura, and Kashi were not exploited for electoral gains.

Responding to queries, Bharti highlighted the distinct nature of Hindu society, contrasting it with Islamic societies where social and religious aspects are more integrated in voting patterns. She said:

"It is not right to blame Modi and Yogi for the Lok Sabha election results in Uttar Pradesh. BJP had lost even after the demolition of the Babri structure on December 6, 1992. Despite this, we did not drop the Ram temple in Ayodhya from our agenda.... We never associated Ayodhya with votes. Similarly, now we are not associating (disputes regarding religious places at) Mathura-Kashi with votes."

To another question, she added:

"It is the Islamic society which works by uniting the social and religious systems. That is why they vote according to the social system."

Bharti cautioned against assuming all devotees of Lord Ram automatically support the BJP and attributed electoral outcomes to oversight rather than waning devotion to Lord Ram:

"We should not have this arrogance that every Ram devotee will vote for the BJP. We should not think that the one who does not vote for us is not a Ram devotee. This (poll result) is the outcome of some negligence and nothing else."

Regarding coalition prospects at the Centre, Bharti expressed confidence based on past successful alliances with leaders like Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu. Her remarks came during a meeting with local BJP leaders in Shivpuri, en route to Bhopal from Gwalior.