Winning mantra: the buzz over AAP’s monthly aid, BJP’s Ram Mandir pitch 

Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place.
| Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Sitting outside Connaught Place’s Hanuman Mandir on a sunny afternoon, a group of temple workers is busy discussing promises made by various parties ahead of the Assembly election. There are talks about the monthly honorarium of ₹18,000 for temple priests and gurdwara granthis announced recently by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, who is a frequent visitor here.

The former Delhi Chief Minister visited Hanuman Mandir after being released on bail in August 2024. In April last year, senior party leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh also paid a visit to the temple after stepping out of jail, as did former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia three months later.

Satish Sharma is among those sitting in the huddle. He is keen on finding out more about AAP’s promise and whether he, a temple worker, could somehow avail of it. But another member of the group argues that the “flourishing economy” around the “BJP’s Ram Mandir” offers something bigger than the monthly handouts — prosperous business and secure employment.

To mark the first anniversary of the Ram Mandir consecration in Ayodhya, the BJP launched a campaign song earlier this week, ‘Jo Ram ko lekar aaye, unka raj hoga Dilli mein (those who brought Lord Ram, will rule Delhi)’.

“People care about Ram Mandir not only because of the pride associated with it but also because of the economy around it. People travel from Delhi and stay there. Shops and hotels are coming up. There are opportunities for everyone,” says Kamlesh Kumar, a social worker.

The poll promise by AAP has sparked a debate between those who feel they are “finally being heard” and those among whom the BJP’s Ram Mandir pitch has struck a chord. Sometimes this dichotomy plays out in the same conversation.

In East of Kailash’s Jampur Shiv Mandir, four priests say they have been approached by workers of AAP and the BJP. One of them, Yashbir Mishra, who has been a priest for 30 years, says, “If AAP gives us ₹18,000, it will benefit us.” Soon enough, he adds, that Ram Mandir is very close to his heart.

In the same area, a gurdwara granthi, who did not want to be named, says, “I get a salary of ₹10,000 per month. Another ₹18,000 would go a long way in helping me financially.”

Congress’s pitch

The third major political party in Delhi, the Congress, has hit out at AAP for excluding Buddhist priests, as well as Muslim and Christian clerics, from its proposed scheme and promised a more inclusive monthly cash assistance programme. Congress’s Udit Raj has organised several protests against AAP over its “exclusionary” approach and termed Delhi’s ruling party “anti-Dalit”.

Echoing the sentiment, bhikshu B.P. Thirojyoti, a Buddhist priest in Loni, who was part of the protest organised by Mr. Raj, says, “Why has nobody from AAP reached out to priests of Buddhist, Valmiki, and Ravidas temples? Are people from the Scheduled Castes not important to them?”