At polling booths in the Old City of Lucknow, where the Muslim vote is of significance, all the parties in the fray stood a fighting chance. While many Muslim voters The Indian Express spoke to appreciated the chief minister and his “work” in the state capital, they did not automatically prefer the Samajwadi Party. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) received a fillip earlier this month when a number of Muslim clerics backed the party. But religious affiliations may not be enough to win an election. As put by Mohammad Salahuddin, 31, a trader from Lucknow Central: “The Akhilesh Yadav government has put in much work in the capital. People who may be swayed by the directions of clerics may change their choice, but I find the SP to be the best option.” ALSO WATCH | Assembly Elections 2017: How Has UP Voted In The Past Explained But then again, is development is all that it takes? Lucknow Central saw an interesting battle. Despite the Congress and SP in alliance in the state, they fought against each other in this constituency. The Congress had asked its candidate Maroof Khan to withdraw for SP MLA Ravidas Mehrotra, but he declined. “Maroof lives in Old City. He is known to people here well. I voted for the Congress,” said Mohammed Aneesh. Congress and SP insiders admitted that the situation could help the BJP candidate Brajesh Pathak as the votes would split between them. “No doubt Akhilesh has done work in Lucknow and I even wanted to vote for him. But I voted for BJP. The SP is not in good shape and that is why they allied with Congress. Many projects like Lucknow Metro which the CM has inaugurated are still incomplete. I think it’s time to give BJP a chance in the state,” said Ashutosh Kumar, in Thakurganj. WATCH VIDEO | SP Will Form Govt In Alliance With Congress: CM Akhilesh Yadav SP is facing a challenge to repeat its unprecedented success of 2012 when it won three of the five urban seats in Lucknow City, dislodging the BJP from what was known as its stronghold for years. In Lucknow West, the SP got around 50,000 votes while the BJP came in second with 42,100. The Congress and BSP garnered close to 36,000 and 27,000 votes, respectively. The 2014 Lok Sabha polls saw the fortunes reversing with SP garnering the lowest among the four parties and BJP coming first. A similar trend could be seen in Lucknow North and Central regions too. In 2012, SP walked away with the honours with 47,580 votes and the Congress and BJP garnering 45,000-odd votes each in Lucknow North. In the Lok Sabha polls, BJP won more than a lakh votes while SP came in third. In Lucknow Central, the 2012 polls gave SP a healthy victory with 62,000 votes while BJP and Congress won 39890 and 35,623 votes, respectively. The Lok Sabha polls saw BJP win 91500 votes while the SP could manage only 10,696. The Congress came in second with 72,390.
