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Huge blunder? Useless provocation? Strategic masterstroke? There were different assessments of the new political situation after the BJP announcement yesterday that the new Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh would be Yogi Adityanath, a Hindutva hardliner known for his egregious comments on Muslim women and communal relations in general. Yogi Adityanath is known – among other […]

The BJP landslide in Uttar Pradesh has raised many questions, given the importance of the Muslim community across the state, and its demographic dominance in certain areas, such as the Northwestern districts of UP. The question is, to what extent that communal polarization account for this outcome? The BJP turned out to be more prepared for […]

Every election brings its surprises. The 2015 Bihar elections had been called early for the BJP, before they were called for the RJD-JDU. And the Nitish Kumar-Lalu Yadav alliance had won by a landslide. UP and Bihar have a lot in common. Two large, mostly agricultural and poor, dysfunctional states. Yet the outcome in UP […]

The first exit polls are now out and they all predict a lead for the BJP, with the SP coming second and the BSP third. The polls seem all relatively consistent, and with the exception of one, do not predict the BJP will win an absolute majority of seats (which is at 202 in UP). […]

Today was the last phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections. Polling took place in southeastern districts of the state, including  Varanasi (Benares), where the main parties had organized large rallies and road shows. Narendra Modi campaigned in Varanasi over the weekend and visited several places of religious worship, which coming from the leader of the […]

The second to last phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections begins tomorrow. Polling will take place in districts of the northern part of the Purvanchal region, which include Deoria and Gorakhpur. Purvanchal, the closest region to Bihar, used to be its poorest as well. The final results will be announced next week and rumors abound. […]

Polling took place yesterday in the Phase 5 districts, which include some of UP’s poorest districts along the border with Nepal, such as Balrampur, Shravasti, Bahraich and Gonda. It is very difficult to predict who will win, and asking people what they ‘feel’ the winner will be is often very misleading. I spent most of […]

The polls open today in Bundelkhand and parts of Southern UP. Bundelkhand is one of the poorest areas in Uttar Pradesh, and one which does not benefit from irrigation (unlike other parts of the Gangetic plain). Bundelkhand used to be a BSP stronghold, and the SP may struggle to get its message ‘Kaam bolta hai’ […]

The Prime Minister made a surprising speech yesterday at a campaign rally, calling for a better treatment of Hindus in Uttar Pradesh. Narendra Modi specifically pointed to the absence of load-shedding during Ramzan and Eid (and the relative absence of electricity during Diwali), and promised that a BJP sarkar would provide adequate facilities for Hindus […]

Twelve districts go to the polls tomorrow for the third phase of the UP polls. These districts include Lucknow, but some of the Central UP districts that are home to the SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SP won big in this region in 2012, bagging 55 seats, against 6 for the BSP, 5 for […]