Lok Sabha elections 2024: Mandir, Pak dominate Yogi Adityanath rally in Kurla

Yogi Adityanath and Ujwal Nikam at Kurla West. Pic/Shadab Khan

At a rally by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the narrow lanes near Kurla's Bharat Cinema for BJP's North Central candidate Ujjwal Nikam, politicians rarely spoke of development, employment, or empowerment. Instead, the speeches were dominated by mentions of Pakistan, terrorism, and the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

This resonated with the attendees, some of whom were local residents and many of whom were party cadres or belonged to "Sangh Parivar" outfits like RSS or Bajrang Dal. The crowd cheered at every mention of the mandir and clapped at every attack against the opposition for their role in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks in the city. Nikam, who was the public prosecutor for the trial of Ajmal Kasab, stated, "People need to remember that Congress said some police officer killed Hemant Karkare and not Kasab."

Two friends at the rally expressed their desire for a Hindu Rashtra, an aspirational theological state governed by religious principles. Aakash Chaudhary, 21, who dropped out of school to look after his father's business in the area, said, "I want nothing from the next government. Once a Hindu Rashtra is formed, citizens can take care of themselves."

Nikam also said, "Congress claims we will change the constitution, but how can we do that when the Supreme Court says it cannot change and PM Modi says it cannot change?" However, Chaudhary and his friend desired one change in the constitution. Responding to Nikam's statement, Chaudhary's friend, 19-year-old Ajit Deshmukh, said, "They only need to remove the word ‘secular' from it. It was added later to favour one community. How will the constitution change if they remove the word ‘secular'?" Both are first-time voters. Deshmukh, a student at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, said, "Congress has done nothing for us."

The main attraction of this rally was Adityanath; some attendees did not know who Nikam was. Suraj Yadav, 25, said, "We only know Modi, Yogi, and the lotus symbol. Both have done so much for the country." Making veiled references to Muslims, BJP's Ashish Shelar said, "Congress has fallen to the level of seeking votes from one special community, with Vijay Wadettiwar telling people Kasab didn't fire shots at Mumbaikars despite the court declaring him guilty. All this for one community's vote."

Prior to the rally, mid-day spoke with a couple of Muslims in the area. Anwar Patel, 75, who owns a shop on the road where the speeches were delivered, said, "We are concerned that Adityanath will be delivering a speech here, but what can we do? We have shops to run. There are a lot of attempts to mislead people from real concerns like rising prices and jobs." Another first-time voter, Sadaf Sheikh, 21, an HR professional who aspires to do an MBA, said, "We want politicians to promise us better educational facilities. There are many today who have degrees but are unemployed." Her father, Javed, a salesman in Kurla, said, "Politicians want to speak on communal, controversial things for votes. That is what will happen here."

When Adityanath's turn came to speak, he said, "This election is between Ram bhakts and rashtra bhakts. Only the person who is a Ram bhakt is a rashtra bhakt, and whoever is a rashtra bhakt is a Ram bhakt." He further added, "This is new India. It is being respected in the world. It has development and it is safe. Today, Pakistan rushes to say they didn't do it even if a firecracker bursts." Furthermore, Adityanath said, "This new India has development and Ram Lalla's mandir in Ayodhya. Congress has a problem with it." He added, "I ask Congress to build a Ram mandir or a Bajrangbali mandir in Italy. They will not."

As his speech came to an end, he promised the locals in the area that he would make it convenient for people there to visit Ram mandir in Ayodhya if Nikam is sent to the parliament. "If you make him a parliamentarian, I will tell Ujjwal Nikam to send all the MLAs and the public here to Ayodhya for a darshan."