Assembly elections: Back to power

The Jaypee Group is said to have perfected the art of staying in favour irrespective of the dispensation in power in UP. However,the going might not be as good as it was during the BSP rule. Among the biggest revenue earners for the group that are at stake in UP are the 185-km Yamuna Expressway and the 1,047 km Ganga Expressway. The big draw being access to land for township development. The SP had earlier said that if it came into power,it will probe the land acquisition process for the Yamuna Expressway.

Ponty Chadha

For the first time ever in the countrys liquor business in India,the UP Government,in March 2009,decided to hand the wholesale business of the Rs 6,000 crore liquor trade in UP to Gurdeep Singh Chadha,better know as Ponty Chadha. The SP had singled out this deal,especially the tendering process,as a clear case of corruption. In 2010,he bagged five of the 11 sick sugar mills sold by UP. Chadhas Wave Group is also developing 152 acres of commercial land in Noida.

BULLISH
Anil Ambani

Uttar Pradesh desperately needs to beef up its power supply situation. During the Samajwadi Partys previous stint,Anil Ambani had zoomed in on the power business as his groups growth engine and UP as his ground. The key to Ambanis plan was an 8,000 MW gas-based power project in Dadri. The Mulayam government had acquired 2,500 acres for the project citing public purpose. In late 2009,the Allahabad High Court asked Reliance Power to return the land to the original owners. A mega special economic zone SEZ in Noida proposed by Ambani was also cancelled by the Mayawati government in mid-2007. Mulayams return could again ensure a bigger play for Ambani in UPs power generation sector.

Subrata Roy

A close friend of Mulayam,Roys exposure straddles the real estate and media businesses,apart from the fixed deposit schemes. New diversifications include entertainment and hotels. Lucknow is the registered headquarters for the group and UP is the key state in terms of overall exposure. Sahara India had bought huge land tracts during Mulayams tenure and announced 11 major township projects,though building activity commenced much later.

Kushagra Bajaj

Bajaj Hindusthan,whose entire business is in UP,had increased its business several-folds during the SP tenure and made an entry into eastern UP. Of late,Bajaj Hindustan has stepped up the focus on power,having invested close to Rs 3,000 crore in five coal-based power plants,with plans for pumping in another Rs12,000 crore in new projects.

Uttar Pradesh Development Council in a new avatar

When Mulayam Singh Yadav took charge as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on August 29,2003,one of the first initiatives of his government,spearheaded by Amar Singh,was the announcement of the Uttar Pradesh Development Council. The council was constituted after McKinsey,Crisil and ICICI presented a report,which stated that with the right mix of policies and infrastructure growth,the state can achieve a 12.4 per cent growth rate by 2020. The list of the council members was impressive,to say the least. Anil Ambani of Reliance Industries,Shishir Bajaj of the Bajaj group,Subrata Roy of the Sahara group,MS Banga of Hindustan Lever,KV Kamath of ICICI Bank,Ramdas Pai of Manipal Academy and Pratap C Reddy of Apollo Hospitals. While the idea was largely welcomed,the process of awarding projects to select players faced criticism from several quarters. It remains to be seen if Mulayam now looks to bring back the council. Akhilesh Yadav,Mulayams son,is likely to steer the council this time around.