Mosque-temple rows and elections: A look at 11 disputed sites

Almost a year on from the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, following which the BJP suffered a shock defeat to the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat where the formerly disputed site is located, a series of mosque-temple disputes have dominated headlines as the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship Act comes under question.

However, in December 2024, the Supreme Court barred civil courts from registering fresh suits challenging the ownership and title of any place of worship, and from ordering surveys of disputed religious places until further orders, leaving 11 major suits pending at sites across the country.

However, several of these disputed sites falling in states are headed for Assembly elections, including Delhi in February. Uttar Pradesh, which alone has seven such ongoing disputes, is scheduled to go to Assembly polls in 2027, with the legal cases likely to be examined or ruled on by then. In February along with Delhi, UP’s Milkipur Assembly seat under the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency is scheduled to hold its long-awaited bypoll, which will see a fierce contest between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP).

Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Delhi

Among the 11 disputed sites is one in poll-bound Delhi at the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque located inside the Qutub Minar complex in Mehrauli.

In 2020, a suit was filed on behalf of the deity Lord Vishnu seeking the restoration of Hindu and Jain deities inside the mosque, claiming that 27 Hindu and Jain temples were destroyed to construct the mosque. While a Civil Judge in Delhi rejected the suit in 2021, a challenge to this order is pending before an Additional District Judge.

The Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque falls within the Mehrauli Assembly constituency and the South Delhi district, which has a total 10 Assembly seats. While Mehrauli itself has an estimated Muslim population of 6.9%, the community comprises about 16.3% of the South Delhi district’s population, as per the 2011 Census.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the Mehrauli seat in 2015 and 2020, months before the suit was filed. The BJP won it in 2013 when the Delhi polls threw up a hung Assembly. But during the Congress’s three consecutive terms in power from 1998 to 2013, the party won this seat in 2003 and 2008, and the BJP won it in 1998. The BJP also won this seat in 1993 in Delhi’s first election since its Assembly was established. Across all these elections, only the 1998, 2008 and 2013 polls saw tight contests, with the remaining ending in one-sided victories.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections though, when the BJP again won all the 10 seats in Delhi, Mehrauli was one of the seven (out of 10) Assembly segments where the BJP was ahead of other parties in South Delhi.

Across the South Delhi district as a whole, while the AAP won a majority of the seats in the last two Assembly polls, the BJP was the strongest party here in 2013. In 2003 and 2008, though, the BJP and Congress almost evenly split the district’s seats, with the Congress marginally ahead. In 1998, the Congress was the clear leader, while in 1993 it was the BJP.

Gyanvapi Mosque, Varanasi

In 1991, a suit was filed on behalf of the Deity Adi Vishweshwar claiming the Gyanvapi Mosque, located in UP’s holy city Varanasi, was built on the site of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. In 2021, five Hindu women filed a suit before a Varanasi civil court seeking permission to worship religious idols that were allegedly located inside the mosque.

The Court of the District and Sessions Judge, Varanasi, ordered an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) inspection and, in 2023, upheld the maintainability of the suit filed by the devotees. In January 2024, the court directed appropriate arrangements be made to allow worship in the basement of the Gyanvapi complex. The maintainability of the 1991 suit was also upheld in 2022.

The mosque falls within the Varanasi South Assembly seat in the larger Varanasi district, which has an estimated 14.88% Muslim population. Varanasi South has been a BJP stronghold for decades – the party hasn’t lost the seat since 1989 and only two of its wins since then came with less than 50% of the vote share. Before 1989, the Bharatiya Jana Sangha, the predecessor of the BJP, had won the seat in 1969 and 1974. The Congress has only won this seat three times – in 1962, 1980 and 1985.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP led in all five Assembly segments, including Varanasi South, that fall under the Varanasi parliamentary seat, which is represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Even in Assembly elections in the state that the BJP did not win, the party and its allies won a majority of the seats that fall within Varanasi district going as far back as 1989. In 1991, the year the legal dispute over the Gyanvapi Mosque first emerged, the BJP won all the Assembly seats in Varanasi district. Since then, only the SP has challenged the BJP in these seats though it has never won more than one seat at a time.

Shahi Idgah Mosque, Mathura

In UP’s Mathura Assembly segment, the Shahi Idgah Mosque is the subject of several suits filed since 2020 seeking its removal, claiming it was built at the site of the birthplace of Lord Krishna. The Allahabad High Court in May 2023 transferred all the pending suits to itself, and, in August 2024, rejected pleas challenging the maintainability of the suits. The mosque committee has since approached the Supreme Court, challenging this order.

Though the BJP won the Mathura Assembly seat in the last two state elections, and in four consecutive polls from 1989 to 1996, it is the Congress that has been historically dominant here with 10 wins since 1952. The Congress most recently won the seat in 2007 and 2012. However, the BJP notably won Mathura with more than 50% of the vote share the last two times, 2017 and 2022, after the legal dispute was raised in 2020.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won all the five Assembly segments that fall under the Mathura parliamentary constituency, which corresponds broadly with the boundaries of the Mathura district, where 8.52% of the population is Muslim.

But, across the Assembly constituencies under Mathura district, the BJP has only been dominant in the last two elections. Prior to that, the seats were split between the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in 2007 and 2012. Barring the 2007 and 2012 polls, the BJP has had a consistent presence, if limited, in the district since 1989.

Teele Wali Masjid, Lucknow

In UP’s state capital, the Teele Wali Masjid was at the centre of a 2013 suit filed by devotees of Lord Sheshnagesht Teeleshwar Mahadev Virajman seeking a survey of the mosque, claiming it was constructed after Mughal ruler Aurangazeb demolished a Hindu temple. The case of the maintainability of the suit remains pending before the Allahabad High Court. Another suit seeking an injunction to allow devotees to offer prayers inside the mosque premises is pending before a Civil Judge in Lucknow.

The Lucknow West Assembly seat, where the mosque is located, has alternated between the BJP and SP in the last four elections, though the BJP had won the seat in consecutive polls between 1989 and 2007. The Congress has won here thrice, its most recent win was in 1985.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP retained the Lucknow seat for the ninth consecutive time since 1991. But at the Assembly segment level, it was the SP that led in Lucknow West.

Across the Lucknow district, which has a 21.46% Muslim population, the BJP has won a majority of its seats in elections going as far back as 1991, barring the 2012 elections when the SP dominated the district. The Congress and BSP have had a limited presence here.

Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal

Last November, Sambhal became the site of the latest mosque-temple dispute after petitioners filed a suit claiming that the Jama Masjid was built over the remains of a “Shri Hari Har Temple dedicated to Lord Kalki”. Within hours a Civil Judge ordered a survey, triggering violence in Sambhal when a team of surveyors subsequently approached the structure. The Supreme Court later ordered the court not to proceed with the suit until the case challenging the survey order was listed before the Allahabad HC.

The Sambhal Assembly seat, within which the mosque is located, is considered an SP stronghold, with the party winning here in six consecutive polls with comfortable margins since 1996. The BJP’s presence here has been limited to one win in 1993, as had been the Congress’s, which won the seat just once in 1980.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP was unable to break the SP’s hold. It lost all but one of the five Assembly segments under the Sambhal parliamentary seat.

Across the Sambhal district, where Muslims comprise 32.88% of the population, and form a core support base for the SP, the party has won a majority of its seats in 2002, 2012, 2017 and 2022. Its primary challenger is now the BJP, with the BSP having diminished after 2007 and the Congress last winning a seat in the area in 1985.

Shamsi Jama Masjid, Budaun

In 2022, the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha filed a suit claiming that a temple to Neelkanth Mahadev originally stood at the site of the Shamsi Jama Masjid. The petitioners are seeking permission to offer prayers at the site and an application has been filed seeking a survey. A fast-track court in Budaun is currently hearing arguments on the maintainability of the suit.

In the Budaun Assembly seat, the BJP, SP and BSP have been the primary contenders since the 1990s. Since 1989, the BJP has won this seat six times, including in the last two Assembly polls. The SP last won it in 2012 and the BSP in 2002. The Congress, though, last won in 1985.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the SP wrested the Budaun parliamentary constituency from the BJP while leading in three of its five Assembly segments.

The Budaun district, where 21.47% of the population is Muslim, has been fiercely contested by the SP and BJP in the last two Assembly polls. While the SP outdid the BJP in 2022, it trailed the BJP in 2017 among the district’s seats. Going as far back as 1993, barring the 2007 state polls, the SP has consistently performed well in this district. Meanwhile, the Congress’s most recent win in the district came in 1991.

Atala Mosque, Jaunpur

In May 2024, during the Lok Sabha polls, the Swaraj Vahini Association filed a suit seeking a declaration that an ancient temple dedicated to Atala Devi originally existed on the site of the Atala Mosque in UP’s Jaunpur, as well as possession of the property, and an injunction restraining non-Hindus from entering the site. A survey has been ordered, and the Jaunpur district court was scheduled to hear a plea to provide security to the surveying authority in December. A petition has been filed at the Allahabad HC challenging the registration of the suit.

The Jaunpur Assembly seat, under which the mosque falls, has shifted between the BJP, Congress and SP in recent elections. While the BJP won the seat in 2017 and 2022, it is the Congress that has won the most elections from here, representing the seat five times. The SP, which finished as the runner-up in 2022, has won the seat just twice. Going as far back as 1991, Jaunpur has seen closely contested fights, with less than 10,000 votes separating the winner and runner-up on several seats in the seven of the last eight polls.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, shortly after the legal dispute emerged, the SP won the Jaunpur parliamentary seat and all five Assembly segments within it.

Across the Assembly seats in the Jaunpur district, which has a 10.76% Muslim population, the SP has won the most seats as a single party in 2022, though the BJP and its allies together outdid the Akhilesh Yadav-led party. The SP and BJP have been the primary contenders in the district, with the Congress’s win in one seat in 2012 its only one since 1985.

Sheikh Salim Chisti Dargah, Fatehpur Sikri

Last year, the Kshatriya Shaktipeeth Vikas Trust filed a suit claiming that the Dargah of Sheikh Salim Chishti and the Jami Masjid premises were built over a temple to Mata Kamakhya. A court in Agra was scheduled to hear an application in December seeking a survey of the mosque.

In the Fatehpur Sikri Assembly seat, which falls under a Lok Sabha seat with the same name and in the Agra district, the BJP won comfortably in 2017 and 2022, after the BSP won in 2007 and 2012 in much narrower contests. The BJP has won the seat a total four times, while the Congress’s last win here came in 1974.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won the Lok Sabha seat for the third consecutive time, though it led in three of its five Assembly segments, including Fatehpur Sikri.

Across Agra district, which has a 9.31% Muslim population, the BJP was the dominant party in the last two Assembly polls. In 2012, the BSP performed well here despite the SP coming to power, and was dominant in 2007 too. Prior to that, going as far back as 1991, the BJP maintained a considerable presence. The Congress last won a seat in the district in 1996.

The other disputed sites

There are three other mosque-temple disputes pending, one each in Rajasthan’s Ajmer, Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar, and Karnataka’s Mangaluru.

In Ajmer, the Dargah Sharif, located in the Ajmer North constituency, became the subject of a dispute in September 2024 after the Hindu Sena filed a civil suit claiming there was evidence of a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at the site. Since it was created after delimitation in 2008, the Ajmer North Assembly seat has been won in consecutive polls by the BJP.

In Dhar, where the Kamal Maula Mosque at the Bhojshala complex is located, the Hindu Front for Justice filed a petition before the Madhya Pradesh HC in 2022 challenging a 2003 ASI order allowing Muslims to offer namaz inside the Bhojshala complex on Fridays. In the Dhar Assembly seat, the BJP has won all but two elections since 1980.

As regards the Malali Juma Masjid in Mangaluru, in 2022, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad filed a suit claiming a “temple-like structure” was found beneath the mosque while it was being renovated. Since 1978, when Karnataka’s current configuration was established, the Congress has been the dominant party, winning seven of the last 11 elections in the Mangalore Assembly seat, including in the last four elections. Of the BJP’s four wins, the most recent came in 2004.

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