Lok Sabha elections: Caste, bread & butter factors competing with temple tide in Ayodhya

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Ayodhya, for which this will be a historic Lok Sabha election being held after the inauguration of the Ram temple, caste and convenience matters are seen to be competing with the temple tide.

BJP MP Lallu Singh is eyeing his third consecutive term from the seat, but it's the fielding of nine-time Dalit SP MLA from Sohawal and Milkipur constituencies Awadhesh Prasad, 78, which has made the contest a keen one with Dalits forming the largest singular voting bloc in the seat, likely to be aided by the prominent Muslim and Yadav population. However, the CPIM has also fielded Arvindsen Yadav, son of popular MP from Ayodhya, Mitrasen Yadav, who had represented CPI, SP and BSP in his three different tenures from the seat, and he could dent the SP's prospects. BSP has fielded Sacchidanand Pandey who could also complicate matters. PM Narendra Modi had held a roadshow here earlier this month.
Talking about the entire population of the district, Faizabad, renamed as Ayodhya (but remains Faizabad Lok Sabha in EC registers) 'Ramrajya' is still many, many years away. One gets a sense of which direction the wind is blowing politically, depending on where one asks.

In Faizabad city and Ayodhya town, residents try to reconcile the immediate pains of a city in transition with the long-term vision of the place becoming a tourist hub. They also speak of the larger issues of inflation, but hint at voting for the BJP. In villages, support for the INDIA bloc candidate is more vocal as many feel shortchanged by the ruling party,