Ayodhya temple 'loot', police action on student protesters cost BJP Bankipur seat: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena UBT leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that allegations surrounding the Ayodhya Ram Temple donations and police action against students protesting the alleged NEET paper leak contributed to the Bharatiya Janata Partys BJP defeat in the Bankipur Assembly byelection in BiharThe bypoll witnessed a major political upset after Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor defeated the BJP in the Bankipur constituency considered a party stronghold since 1995The election was necessitated after BJP national president Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha and assumption of the partys national leadership roleKishor defeated BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar by a margin of 19324 votesRaut claims public anger influenced the bypoll outcomeSpeaking to reporters in New Delhi Raut alleged that public dissatisfaction over recent developments had influenced the outcome of the Bankipur byelectionAccording to the Shiv Sena UBT leader police action against students protesting at Jantar Mantar over the alleged NEET paper leak allegations related to the handling of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple and what he described as the BJP leaderships silence on these issues contributed to voter sentimentRaut also referred to a viral video showing a performer dressed as the Hindu deity Hanuman dancing and waving a BJP flag while welcoming party president Nitin Nabin in Lucknow He claimed the incident had hurt the sentiments of many peopleThe BJP has not publicly linked these issues to the bypoll outcomeOpposition sees bypoll result as politically significantRaut said the Bankipur result had boosted the confidence of opposition parties and drew parallels with previous electoral upsets that according to him altered the political landscapeHe referred to the 1988 Allahabad byelection held after actor Amitabh Bachchan resigned from Parliament which was won by former Prime Minister V P Singh Raut claimed that the victory marked the beginning of the Congress partys electoral decline at the national levelHe also cited the BJPs defeat in the 2018 Gorakhpur Lok Sabha byelection where the Samajwadi Party won the seat vacated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after he assumed office as chief ministerAccording to Raut these byelection results demonstrated that politically significant constituencies can produce outcomes with wider implicationsQuestions raised over RSS outreach to Gen ZRaut also criticised an upcoming interaction between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and members of Generation Z at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre NMACC in MumbaiHe questioned whether the participants would genuinely represent young people from across the countryWho else will go there They those participating are not Gen Z Raut saidHe added that young people who participated in protests at Jantar Mantar and faced police action should instead be invited to engage with the RSS chiefThe Bankipur byelection has drawn considerable political attention after ending the BJPs long hold over the constituency While opposition leaders have described the result as politically significant the BJP has said it will undertake an internal review of the bypoll outcome as it prepares for future electoral contestsWith inputs from PTI