Modi’s BJP concedes defeat in Ayodhya despite Ram Mandir construction

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) conceded defeat on Tuesday in a constituency where the inauguration of a grand Hindu temple on the site of a mosque just months ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen as an event that would cement his legacy and the party’s poll victory. The BJP looks set for heavy losses in the bellwether northern state of Uttar Pradesh, as the opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress race ahead in more than half of its 80 seats, including in Ayodhya city in the Faizabad constituency where Modi inaugurated the temple in January.