In a sharp rebuttal to recent comments made by RSS leader Indresh Kumar regarding the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bihar BJP Minister Nitin Nabin asserted, “We did not do politics in the name of Ram.”
The statement came after Indresh Kumar, speaking at the ‘Ramrath Ayodhya Yatra Darshan Poojan Samaroh’ in Kanota near Jaipur, remarked, “Those who became arrogant were stopped at 241 by Lord Ram.” Kumar elaborated on his views, saying, “See the ‘Vidhan’ of Ram Rajya in democracy; those who did ‘Bhakti (worshipped) of Ram but gradually turned arrogant, that party emerged as the biggest party, but the vote and power that should have been given was stopped by God due to their arrogance. Those who opposed Ram, none of them was given power. Even all of them together were made number two. God’s justice is true and enjoyable.”
Indresh Kumar emphasized the spiritual justice of Lord Ram, stating, “Ram does not make anyone lament. Ram gives justice to everyone. He gives and will keep on giving. Lord Ram was always just and will remain so.”
The BJP experienced a significant setback in the Faizabad constituency, which encompasses Ayodhya, where Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad, a candidate from the Scheduled Castes, defeated BJP’s Lallu Singh in the recent elections. Despite Nabin’s claim that the BJP did not politicize the Ram temple opening, the party’s campaign prominently featured the temple issue nationwide.
On June 13, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat commented on the election results, stating, “a true ‘sevak’ is not arrogant and serves the people by maintaining dignity.” This was Bhagwat’s first public statement following the Lok Sabha election outcome, which saw the BJP secure a record third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, albeit with a reduced mandate. Despite a robust campaign, the BJP won 240 out of 543 seats, falling short of both the majority mark of 272 and the ambitious ‘400 paar’ target set by the NDA.
To form a coalition government, the BJP had to rely on its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners, including the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by N Chandrababu Naidu and the Janata Dal (United) headed by Nitish Kumar.