The BJP has reasons to be concerned over the defeat suffered by its candidates in all the Lok Sabha constituencies around Ayodhya. These constituencies had been converted into the bases of karsewaks during their onward march to Ayodhya from places as far off as Varanasi, Allahabad and Lucknow in 1990. Rail and bus links to Ayodhya had then been snapped by the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government and barricades were put on all pads leading to the temple town. The saffron forces stablished camps in hundreds of villages in nearby districts which were used by their volunteers as outposts. he exercise resulted in an intimate interaction between the villagers and the Hindutva activists and subsequently me to be utilised by the BJP in the elections. All that now seems to be over. The party has not only lost Faizabad but also of Gonda, Balrampur and Bahraich at had remained its stronghold since then. Akbarpur and Kaiserganj were two other seats in the vicinity of  Ayodhya where the party has lost ..                                                                                                     (Source: The Hindu, 15 March, 1998)