Like a good cricket test match, Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections seem to be headed for an exciting finish after four rounds done. On the eve of polling for phase five, all three results seem possible. During the telecast of a test match, analysts like to divide a day into sessions. If we apply cricket analogy, the defender, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the contender, the Samajwadi Party (SP), are on an even keel, with the latter having a slight advantage in momentum as the contest moves towards the decisive last three phases in the eastern part of the State.
It would be too early to judge a winner in such a closely fought election, where this reporter has seen people living under the same roof divided between the alliances on which the BJP and the SP are fighting it out. Nevertheless, there are some clear takeaways, and a few important ifs and buts.
Firstly, in a bid to highlight the bigger issues of nationalism, dynastic politics, and appeasement, the BJP lost track of the micromanagement that it so smartly did in the last election. Stray cattle is a real issue across the State , even bigger than the farm laws in terms of resonance at the grassroots, and the ruling party woke up to it only in the middle of its campaign. In the run-up to the election, Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath only focussed on the closure of illegal slaughterhouses; it was only after the third round that he started saying he would ensure shelterless cattle didn’t damage farmers’ crops.
