Given the scale of the celebrations around the Ram Temple inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ayodhya is set to be the ruling BJP’s major plank in the coming Lok Sabha polls. However, on the road from Delhi to Ayodhya in the run-up to the consecration shows that while the Temple will be a deciding factor for a large section of the electorate, for many, it will be one of several issues, with caste still a big determinant.

While there was near-unanimous approval for the Temple among the voters, the public response to the grand inauguration and its importance was clearly tempered by voters’ party preferences. Plus, concerns that were shared by them regardless of their party loyalties, such as unemployment, rising prices, stray cattle and, increasingly, recent changes that could end up punishing drivers with 10 years’ imprisonment for fatal accidents.

Those belonging to the upper castes and non-Yadav OBCs – the vote banks which have rallied behind the BJP staunchly in UP since 2014 – appear more excited about the Temple. But the Yadavs, which form the core vote base of the Samajwadi Party (SP), while approving of the Temple, express reservations over its “politicisation”, calling it a “ploy to deflect from real issues”, and talking of “waste of huge resources” on its construction.

The Jatav Dalits, a key vote bank of the Mayawati-led BSP, appear to be the least enthusiastic about the Temple. But even among the Scheduled Castes, Dalit groups such as Valmikis and Pasis, which have now gravitated towards the BJP, express happiness over the Temple being built.

“Ram Mandir is not an issue for the polls. They (the BJP) are already winning, with or without the Temple. People are happy about everything that Modi is doing for the country,” says Shiv Ashray, an OBC, who works as a driver and is a resident of Sarojini Nagar constituency of Lucknow. He then refers to the new central laws proposing a hefty fine and 10 years’ imprisonment for drivers involved in fatal accidents. “It is unfair. Accidents can happen even due to the victim’s fault,” he says.

Jagannath Kushwaha, also an OBC, who makes a living selling vegetables in Basheerganj in Unnao district, does not agree with Ashray. “Vote toh Ram Mandir pe hi padega. Modi-Yogi ne banwa diya, nahin to ye kabhi nahin ho paata (Only the Ram Temple issue will determine the vote. Modi-Yogi ensured its construction, otherwise it would have never happened),” he says, beaming with joy.

But even Kushwaha is unhappy over the laws regarding drivers. “Every house has a driver these days,” he says.

Another major voter grievance is the menace of “chhutta pashu” (stray cattle) – an issue that is being raised for several years now, though admittedly not seeming to have affected the poll results.

Udai Raj, a Valmiki farmer from Basheerganj, says: “This government is fine. But we are very troubled due to chhuta pashu, which have destroyed my entire wheat crop. And there is no compensation. It is so cold I can’t even sit near the field to protect my crops. If they (the BJP government) are able to control this, support for them will keep going up.”

It is a concern that Jagannath Kushwaha also shares. “They have got all the slaughterhouses shut. It is one bad decision they have made,” he says.

Ilu Rawat, a 25-year-old Pasi farmer from Kati Bagia village in Lucknow district, agrees, as does Rajendra Lodhi, an OBC from Murtazanagar. However, while echoes of this are heard across the rural belts of various regions, barely anyone thought of it as an issue strong enough to change their voting preference.

For the BJP’s supporters, the “maintenance of law and order” under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath – a topic on which there is agreement across the spectrum of castes and political affiliations – and India’s “rising prestige” under PM Modi are good enough reasons to stick to the party.

Most BJP voters list along with this the improved road infrastructure as the reason for why they will vote for the party, adding: “Aur ab toh Mandir bhi bana diya (And now they have also built the Temple).”

Many youths, especially students and graduates, speak about the lack of jobs, with those entrusted with looking after their families also highlighting price rise.

This is a concern even among core BJP supporters. However, Manoj Gupta, a shopkeeper in Lucknow district, speaks for many when he expresses jubilation for the Temple and while expressing concern about unemployment and price rise, says: “Lekin ab kya karein? Koi doosra saamne khada bhi to nahin hai (But what to do, is there any alternative challenging them).”

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had swept UP, bagging 62 out of the 80 seats as against the SP’s 5 and the BSP’s 10.