The high voltage Uttar Pradesh Assembly election reaches its final round as 54 constituencies spread over nine districts of Purvanchal will vote on Monday. These include Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi and prime contender Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s Lok Sabha seat Azamgarh.
While Mr. Modi spent three days in Varanasi, ahead of the poll date, Mr. Yadav turned up in Azamgarh on the last day of canvassing. The adjoining districts, in many ways, reflect the agenda of the 2022 polls. The BJP kept trying to pull it towards Hindutva and Muslim appeasement, while the SP worked towards caste realignment and raising what it felt were real issues concerning the common man.
During the campaign, the BJP tried to connect the SP bastion with terrorism, after five residents of the district were sentenced to death in the Ahmedabad serial blasts case of 2008. The SP, on the other hand, said it was a last-ditch attempt to polarise the elections and divert attention from real issues.
