Here's how the main political players in UP have worked out their vote bank strategy:
1.
Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)
Considered to be a party of Banias, the BJP surged in UP after the Ram Temple movement in 1989, by capturing the upper caste vote bank.
The party has since also made inroads with non-Yadav OBC castes and non-Jatav Dalits.
The party has since also made inroads with non-Yadav OBC castes and non-Jatav Dalits.
2.
Samajwadi Party (SP)
The Muslim-Yadav combination helped SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav emerge as a regional heavyweight.
He also got a section of Most Backward Class votes behind him, by projecting himself as the strongest OBC leader in the state.
Mulayam's son Akhilesh Yadav's face has since helped the party catch some floating upper caste votes.
He also got a section of Most Backward Class votes behind him, by projecting himself as the strongest OBC leader in the state.
Mulayam's son Akhilesh Yadav's face has since helped the party catch some floating upper caste votes.
3.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
Unflinching support from Dalits helped BSP grow steadily in the 1990s.
In 2007, BSP supremo Mayawati surprised all by successfully wooing a substantial chunk of Brahmin and Muslim voters through her 'social engineering'.
In 2007, BSP supremo Mayawati surprised all by successfully wooing a substantial chunk of Brahmin and Muslim voters through her 'social engineering'.
4.
Congress
The Congress, once extremely powerful in UP, lost its support base - Brahmin, Muslim and Dalits - in the state in 1989.
The BSP took away the Dalits, the BJP grabbed the upper castes and the SP won the confidence of the Muslims. The party has been struggling, mightily, since then.
The BSP took away the Dalits, the BJP grabbed the upper castes and the SP won the confidence of the Muslims. The party has been struggling, mightily, since then.
5.
The Gameplan
• Most parties attempt to poach each other's vote bank in addition to bagging the vulnerable groups - the most backward among backward castes/classes and subcastes - while holding onto their core support base.
• The BJP hopes for Hindu consolidation but it doesn't have a face - Narendra Modi - like it did in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
• The SP and the BSP hope their core support bases will vote to see a chief minister of their respective castes, and are trying to woo other castes through ticket distribution.
• The Congress could make a comeback, especially in the first two phases of the polls with the 11 reserved seats the SP has given it.
• The BJP hopes for Hindu consolidation but it doesn't have a face - Narendra Modi - like it did in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
• The SP and the BSP hope their core support bases will vote to see a chief minister of their respective castes, and are trying to woo other castes through ticket distribution.
• The Congress could make a comeback, especially in the first two phases of the polls with the 11 reserved seats the SP has given it.
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