Sanjay Jha vs BJP's Pradeep Bhandari: Ayodhya Battle Heats Up Ahead Of UP Polls

As Ayodhya returns to the centre of Uttar Pradesh's political discourse, a fiery face-off between Congress leader Sanjay Jha and BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari has laid bare the battle over faith, identity and electoral politics. While Jha argued that the BJP does not have exclusive ownership of Hinduism and claimed Ayodhya's 2024 verdict exposed the limits of religious polarisation, Bhandari dismissed the Opposition's outreach as "election-time Hindutva" and challenged Akhilesh Yadav to contest from Ayodhya. With Sonia Gandhi's remarks on the Babri demolition, Akhilesh's planned Ram Temple visit and BJP's Ayodhya challenge converging, the temple town is once again emerging as a key battleground on the road to the 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections.