Akhilesh chose not to take QED and Ansari into the fold. It could end up splitting the Muslim vote and helping BJP.
With only 89 seats to go, the UP polls are in its closing phases. Like a good marathon runner preserves all the energy to give the final push, battle-fatigued parties are looking to find momentum as the campaign winds down. For BJP, it helps that the endgame is in eastern Uttar Pradesh, which thanks to PM Modi's presence in Varanasi has bagged some plump projects in the past few years. But for the saffron unit, the possible star of the sixth phase is firebrand MP Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur.
7 districts namely Mau, Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Azamgarh and Ballia are going to polls on Saturday and 49 seats are in fray. It follows a familiar pattern of complete SP domination in 2012 winning 27 seats and BJP completely sweeping in 2014, and was ahead in 43 assembly segments. It had overwhelming 42% votes after ensuring a spectacular Hindu concentration. But this time it may be different.
Yogi Adityanath and Amit Shah (PTI)
Mayawati after a grand drubbing in 2014 has managed to hold on to her cadres even though BSP has faced some high-profile exits like Swami Prasad Maurya who is also in fray in this phase. But for Mayawati, the greatest addition may be the inclusion of Mukhtar Ansari's QED in the BSP fold. Ansari, a bahubali from Eastern UP is currently in jail under allegations of killing a BJP MLA. But Ansari and his family wield significant influence in over dozen of seats in Mau and neighbouring districts. With his Robin Hood image, Ansari and his ilk are the messiah of the poor where governance has taken a back seat.
Samajwadi Party managed to nearly seal a deal with Ansaris pre-elections. But it was Akhilesh who spurned the deal, fearing that he would be accused of promoting goondaraj. A combination of SP, Congress with Ansari's influence would have been potent in eastern UP to counter BJP. But Akhilesh has taken a calculated risk and will hope that the gamble pays off. But that is not the only problem on Akhilesh's plate. Mulayam Singh has been absent from his Lok Sabha constituency of Azamgarh. While Akhilesh and Dimple Yadav have campaigned intensely, and looked to turn the tide, whether they can get all the SP votes will only be known later. But Mulayam's absence has again starkly exposed the massive rift that exists in SP.
As for BJP, what's better than an agenda of development and Hindutva? It is when you can claim that development has been hampered owing to divisive politics. That's what the BJP has been doing in the last fortnight. The PM started the rhetoric with graveyard statement and other leaders took the cue. The party won just 7 in 2012. It will hope to significantly rack up its tally this time around. Adityanath's presence, despite the criticism he continues to face from many media outlets, will certainly bolster the BJP. On the other hand, a split in Muslim votes could hamper the SP-Cong. For BSP, Muslim and Dalit vote with the 'goodwill' of Ansaris hold the key. Akhilesh may rue the choice to ignore ground reality for headline management. Only time will tell if he made the right call.
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 "Akhilesh Yadav")
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