UP polls 2017: SP-Cong alliance pins hope on note ban anger to fight BJP

Campaigning comes to an end for the third phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2017 today evening. As many as 69 seats across central UP’s Lucknow, Kanpur, Sitapur, Mainpuri, Etawah and adjoining districts will vote on Sunday. Samajwadi Party and Congress workers in the region are nervous. They fear a Hindu consolidation for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP believes the third phase will mark a revival of the party after a tepid response in the first two phases.

In the cities and towns of central UP, there is a positive buzz for Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav but the alliance’s hopes rest more on the mistakes of its rival. The alliance has tried to tap into the anger on the street for Narendra Modi government’s note ban decision, the perceived non-performance of BJP’s Lok Sabha members of Parliament and the infighting in that party’s ranks because of faulty ticket distribution.

But the cadres are also discovering a groundswell of support from the upper castes who wish deliverance from the “Ahir-Muslim” rule of the last five years. The BJP is sure that the patchwork of caste coalition of upper castes and non-Yadav OBCs would help it win majority of the seats in the region.

1. Hindu consolidation

2. Note ban

3. Non-performance of BJP MPs, poor candidate selection

4. Chinks in SP-Congress alliance

5. Anti-incumbency and law and order

6. Split in Muslim votes

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