BJP's Strategic Move: Bengal Opens Help Desk for Ayodhya Pilgrimage Ahead of Elections
Saffron Party Aims to Capitalize on Religious Sentiment, Plans to Send Two Lakh Members to Visit Ram Temple
Aimed at capitalizing on the religious mood produced by the consecration event on January 22 ahead of the elections, the Bengal branch of the BJP has opened a help desk for those who want to visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya via the special Shraddha Express.
BJP sources claim that the party intends to send two lakh members from Bengal before the Lok Sabha elections.
Every day, hundreds of phone calls are received by us. A state BJP leader said, "We have now opened a help desk to help interested people book their berths in Shraddha Express."
According to BJP sources, the Union Ministry of Railways intended to operate 1,000 special trains, known as the Shraddha Express, from various national towns to Ayodhya by the month of March.
100 of them will depart from Bengali stations, including as Howrah, Burdwan, Durgapur, Malda, and New Jalpaiguri. There will be 2,000 people every train. The Up and Down charges, which run around Rs 1,600 per person, must be paid by the passengers, according to the BJP representative.
Before the consecration event on January 22, several individuals from the state had indicated interest in visiting the Ram temple while getting "Akshat," or holy rice, from Ayodhya and a photograph of the temple, according to BJP sources.
"We get a lot of calls every single day. We have thus made the decision to help the public by providing them with information on the dates and times of the Shraddha Express from the state's railway stations. We'll work with travel agencies to assist them in purchasing tickets," said another BJP leader.
According to BJP officials, their internal analysis indicated that the saffron party would have benefited from a roughly 10% vote swing in some regions of Bengal if the Lok Sabha elections had taken place at the end of January. However, the BJP leaders want to keep the temple excitement from wearing off over time.
"We can cause a swing of three to four percent votes in many large parts of Bengal if we can send two lakh people from Bengal to Ayodhya." A BJP leader said, "Each of these individuals will share their experiences in Ayodhya with ten or more people, and as a result, the sentiment around the temple will renew."
