On the UP Election trail

Uttar Pradesh is considered- politically the most important region in India. As the state went for a massive seven phase polling schedule, I went across a few key constituencies associated with the heavyweights in the fray. These included Mayawati's former parliamentary seat- Akbarpur, the Gandhi bastions- Amethi and Rae Bareli, Mulayam's native village- Saifai and BJP's garh- Ayodhya. The following articles capture the mood of the electorate in these places.

Click here to read about Saifai- Mulayam's ancestral village, with its swanky new buildings- because of which, it is now being referred to as a mini-Noida.


Click here to read about Rae Bareli- Indira Gandhi's former constituency, now represented by her bahu, Sonia and where her granddaughter Priyanka's charm holds sway.


Click here to read about Amethi- another Gandhi family bastion, where party workers do not tire of singing paeans to their MP- Rahul bhaiyya, although the Rani of Amethi-Ameeta Singh is also making her presence felt.


Click here to read about Akbarpur- Mayawati's former constituency, where people remember the development that happened during her time and hope for her to become CM again.

Click here for another story about Akbarpur- on how an old barber is keeping alive Dr Ram Manohar Lohia's memories alive in Lohia's birthplace.


Click here to read about Ayodhya- BJP's Ram Janmabhoomi epicentre, where people now want to move onto other things although mahants here say they will still support the BJP for building the Ram temple.