The Bengal unit of the BJP has started a help desk for those who wish to visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya by the special Shraddha Express in an apparent bid to reap political dividend from the religious sentiment generated from the January 22 consecration ceremony ahead of the polls.
According to BJP sources, the party wants to send 2 lakh people from Bengal ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
"We are receiving thousands of phone calls every day.... We have now started a help desk to assist interested people book their berths in Shraddha Express,” said a state BJP leader.
BJP sources said that the Union ministry of railways planned to run 1,000 special trains — called the Shraddha Express — from different cities in the country to Ayodhya within March this year.
"Of them, 100 trains will be run from stations in Bengal including Howrah, Burdwan, Durgapur, Malda and New Jalpaiguri. Each train will ferry 2,000 passengers. The passengers have to pay the Up and Down fares, around Rs 1,600 per head,” said the BJP leader.
BJP insiders said that many people from the state had expressed interest in visiting the Ram temple while receiving "Akshat" or sacred rice from Ayodhya and a picture of the Ram temple ahead of the consecration ceremony on January 22.
"We are receiving a huge number of calls every day. So, we have decided to assist the people with information about dates and timings of Shraddha Express from various railway stations in the state. We will help them buy tickets by engaging travel agents,” said another BJP leader.
BJP insiders said their internal assessment showed that had Lok Sabha polls been held in January-end, the saffron camp would have seen a nearly 10 per cent vote swing in its favour in many parts of Bengal. But over time, the temple euphoria could subside, which BJP leaders want to prevent.
"If we can send 2 lakh people from Bengal to Ayodhya, it can trigger a swing of 3 to 4 per cent votes in many large parts of Bengal. Each of these persons will relate their experiences in Ayodhya to at least 10 more persons and hence the sentiment around the temple will renew,” said a BJP leader.