MP Polls: In temple town of Orchha no traction for Ram Temple

Orchha in the Bundelkhand region of MP is the only place where there is a temple dedicated to Ram Raja. People here worship Ram as the king. It’s believed that Ram spends his day in Ayodhya, his birthplace, and returns to Orchha every night to rest.

Yet, people in this small tourist town with a Ram temple on the banks of Betwa river don’t seem to care much about building a Ram temple in Ayodhya — an issue BJP has been playing up in its ongoing campaigns in MP. Party campaigners such as Uma Bharati and UP CM Yogi Adityanath mention the Mandir issue in every rally they address, but talking to voters here gives a sense that they are more concerned about local issues.

“We already live in a place which has a Ram temple,” said Chandra Pal Jain, 58, who runs a paan shop near the Ram temple. “It is the Ayodhya of Bundelkhand, but look at the facilities. So many tourists, especially foreign tourists, come here, but there is not even a Sulabh complex (public toilets). The number of tourists is declining.”

Orchha, which is some 18 km from Jhansi on way to Khajuraho, falls under Niwari constituency. The BJP won this seat for the first time in 2013 when Anil Jain defeated his predecessor Meera Yadav of SP by about 27,000 votes.


The two candidates are competing against each other for the third successive time.

In terms of castes, Yadavs form the highest segment with around 30,000 votes, followed by Kushwahas (24,000). There are about 15,000 Brahmin voters, and the rest is a mix of most backward castes, Rajputs and others.

Congress has negligible presence in the region. Its candidate could get only 6,000 votes in 2013. This time Congress has put up a new candidate, Ahir Capt Surrender Singh ‘Boxy’, hoping to tape the Yadav votes. But locals treat him as outsider as he stays in Agra, UP.

Jain expressed confidence that he will retain his seat. During his campaign in 2013 he had promised to make Niwari a district. “I have fulfilled the promise.” His main rival Meera negated this claim. “Creation of a district involves passing the proposal in the assembly and further approval by the governor. The BJP MLA has not worked on basic problems like drinking water, electricity and roads.”

The voters seem undecided yet. Om Prakash Kushwaha, a 47-yearold LIC agent in Orchha, said Ram Temple in Ayodhya is a nonissue. “I voted for the BJP in 2013 and 2014. I will vote for Modi again in 2019, but not this time,” he said.

Prince Tiwari, a hotel management graduate, said he is unhappy with the BJP government for the SC/ST Act. “But I will vote for the BJP as I can’t vote for SP which is in fight with the BJP,” he said.

The religious importance of Orchha can be understood by the fact that CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan started his Samanwya Yatra after visiting Raja Ram temple last year. Congress’ Digvijaya Singh started his Ekta Yatra in May this year by offering prayer at the temple. Nivari is one of the five constituencies under Tikamgarh district of MP. In 2013, BJP had won three and Congress two seats.