Lucknow, April 8 (IANS) With a former Indian Army chief, three Bollywood actors and a former top cop of Mumbai in the fray, western Uttar Pradesh is set for a keen battle Thursday to elect 10 of the state's 80 Lok Sabha members.
The biggest test lies for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which has five MPs from the region in the outgoing Lok Sabha.
Faced with caste and community matrix, BSP chief Mayawati is straddled with a never before like situation when her tested social engineering formula is up for a reality check.
The test for the Dalit diva starts in Saharanpur, the centre of much mud-slinging and hate mongering after Congress candidate Imran Masood's infamous "will chop Modi into pieces" comment.
The calculations of the outgoing BSP MP, Jagdish Rana, might go haywire as the area gets polarized between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.
While the BJP is making the best use of the hate speech against its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the Congress is seeking the Muslim vote to halt the Modi juggernaut.
In her recent rallies, Mayawati has tried to woo Muslim voters by citing the 2002 Gujarat riots and telling them that Modi will turn Uttar Pradesh into a riot state like Gujarat.
The ruling Samajwadi Party faces a double whammy. First, it has to retain the two seats it won in 2009. Then, it has to contain the ire of Muslims who are present in sizeable numbers in all the 10 seats.
There is also resentment among sugarcane growers against the two-year-old Akhilesh Yadav government.
A visibly angry Girish Rana, a farmer, told IANS that the Samajwadi Party leadership had pawned their future to private sugar mill owners. He was also critical of what he said was the appeasement of Muslims.
Western Uttar Pradesh is also the centre of farmer politics and has time and again aided the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). But many feel that party chief Ajit Singh may be in for a shock this time.
The party chief holds the Baghpat seat. He has been challenged by former Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh.
RLD is hoping to win the Bijnore seat on the credentials of cine actress Jaya Prada.
With Jat votes on many seats crucial, any shift in their loyalty could lead to a tectonic shift. This is what the BJP is looking for.
BJP state chief Laxmikant Bajpayi, a legislator from Meerut, predicts a clean sweep for his party.
The BJP is specially hopeful for General V.K. Singh (Ghaziabad), Satyapal Singh (Baghpat), Mahesh Sharma (Noida), Sanjiv Baliyan (Muzaffarnagar), Kunwa Bhartendu Singh (Bijnore), Hukum Singh (Kairana) and Rajendra Agarwal (Meerut).
The Bijnore and Kairana candidates are accused in the September riots in Muzaffarnagar and nearby areas that left over 60 people dead.
The Congress is hopeful of film actress Nagma winning from Meerut and Raj Babbar from Ghaziabad.
Congress vice president called on Masood's family on the day he was arrested for his statement threatening Modi.
The party's prospects have been jolted by the last minute defection of Congress candidate from Gautambudh Nagar (Noida) to the BJP.
Raj Babbar, the Congress candidate from Ghaziabad, is upbeat.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has fielded candidates in all the 10 seats, is seen as an "also ran" force in a region entrenched in caste and community feelings.
The sit-in of suspended MPs ends, now the entire opposition including Congress will boycott the remaining monsoon session
Eight MPs who were suspended from the Rajya Sabha after a boast over farmer bills have ended their sit-in. Also, on the issue of suspension of agricultural bills and MPs, Congress has decided to
Country's first driverless metro: Modi launches automated metro in Delhi; 2 trains will automatically stop when they come on a track
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched the country's first driverless metro train through video conferencing in Delhi. The facility has been started on the 37 km long magenta line of the
If more than one lakh rupees electricity bill is paid then it is necessary to fill returns, new ITR forms issued
The Income Tax Department has notified new income tax return forms giving details of the income for the financial year 2019-2020. The government has also made it necessary to file income tax returns
Understand how the sign of Z like Swastika became a sign of Russian invasion.
Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Russia has been trying to control Ukraine for the past 12 days. The Russian army has so far occupied some areas near the Russia-Ukraine border. There is a lot of
President, PM Greet Nation on Holi
New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday greeted the nation on the eve of Holi."On the joyous occasion of Holi, I convey warm greetings and
Zelensky will attend NATO summit: For the first time the partners of the Pacific region will also be together, the summit will be held in Spain on June 28-29
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to be held this month. NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mirsia Joen told that the President
Aakash Chopra claims - If these two players do not play well then Gujarat Titans will also not perform well
Punjab Kings (PKBS) ended Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans (GT) winning streak in IPL 2022 on 4 May. Batting first, Gujarat had scored only 143 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Punjab chased down the
Caution: New traffic rule for motorcyclists, scooter riders, warning also issued
The Traffic Police has issued a notification today making helmets mandatory for those who sit on the back seat of motorcycles and scooters. And also warned of action for violating this rule. This new
Vehicles will run on the highway without Fastag: Toll will not be seen on NH, money will be deducted according to the distance; ANPR system will start soon
There will be no need to stand in long lines on the highway. Nor do you have to worry that you will have to pay the full toll for a 5 km journey. Now the highways coming out of Rajasthan are going to
Police get forensic report on Pushkar's cell phones
New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi on Monday said police have received the report of forensic experts on data analysis of mobile phones of Sunanda Pushkar."We had sent