BJP evokes Ram Temple ahead of UP polls

Raising the Ram Temple issue ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, state BJP Chief Keshav Prasad Maurya on Tuesday said that a "grand" Ram Temple will be built in Ayodhya after the polls.

"It's not an election issue for us. It's a matter of faith," he told media.

Commenting on the remark of Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), the apex body of Hindu holy men in the country, that it would not support the BJP and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on the issue anymore, the BJP leader said that his party has "support and blessings" of all the holy men.

"The Ram Temple cannot be constructed in two months, but it will certainly be built after the state assembly polls," he said.

Earlier in the day, ABAP said that the decision not to support the BJP and the VHP was taken as both had used the sensitive issue only to attract votes and played with the sentiments of the "sant samaj" and Hindus.