Ram temple in Ayodhya has always been BJP's top priority: Kalraj Mishra

Lucknow: A day after newly appointed UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya said that Ram Janmabhoomi issue was never a key poll plank of BJP, Union Minister Kalraj Mishra on Thursday said the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya has always been a top priority for the party.

The BJP is making desperate attempts to establish its presence in Uttar Pradesh.

“Law and order should be sound in the state. Before it, we cannot talk about other issues. Our agenda in the polls would be development, good law and order, communal peace and harmony. Without resolving these issues, nothing can be done,” Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra said.

While asserting that 'Ram Mandir' has never been a poll issue for the BJP, Maurya had said that the party will contest the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections on the development issue.

Maurya had said Ram temple is an issue of faith and not a poll plank for the Uttar Pradesh polls which will be fought on development agenda.

The BJP won 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh in 2014, with two other seats going to an ally. The Samajwadi Party won five seats while the Congress got just two. The BSP drew a blank.

In subsequent bye-elections, however, the BJP has suffered ups and downs in the state.