Political war of words intensifies ahead of polls in India's northern Uttar Pradesh

Siddarthnagar/Sitapur/Maharajganj (Uttar Pradesh), Feb.5 (ANI): The atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh has turned electric ahead of the upcoming polls, with political leaders intensifying their campaigns to mobilise their voter bases.

Elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held through seven-phase polling in the months of February and March this year.

In the fray are the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP), besides several independent candidates and representatives of other regional factions.

Contesting political parties have gone on a campaigning overdrive, with leaders leaving no stones unturned to garner maximum support in what is expected to be an intense battle royal.

Flexing his increasing political muscle in the state's Basti district, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi exuded confidence of his party's emphatic victory in the forthcoming polls.

"The next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh will be from the Congress party. We are not going to compromise or make alliances with any political party in the state. We will not enter into agreements with any party. We will only make a deal with the people of Uttar Pradesh. Your voice will reach the state capital of Lucknow. Your money will reach your hands. Development will indeed happen in Uttar Pradesh," said Gandhi.

Development has emerged as the focal point of the electoral battle in Uttar Pradesh with anti-incumbency, the new buzz dominating the circuits.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh clarified that his party is keen on forming the next government in the state on its own and without the support of any other party.

"I want to make one thing very clear. The Samajwadi Party (main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh) always keeps saying it has no ideological differences with the Congress party, and that it could form the next government in an alliance with us. However, we have already made this mistake once. This time, we do not want to make an ineffective government. We want to form a strong government in the state.

We do not want the cycle's (election symbol of the Samajwadi Party) support for this. All we need is the power of the hand (election symbol of the Congress party). We will form our own government here," Singh said while addressing a rally in the state's Sitapur district.With Congress training its guns on the Mayawati-led BSP regime on issues such as corruption and breakdown of governance in the state, the latter has launched a scathing counter-attack, raising the issue of minority reservation."All that the Congress party is saying on the issue of minority reservations right before the elections is merely a poll gimmick. All of you should be wary of such moves," Mayawati said at a rally in Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh.Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state and provides the biggest single bloc of seats in parliament. Ironically, it is also one of the country's worst performers in several socio-economic indices.The polls are being viewed as an opportunity for major political parties to re-establish or strengthen their footholds in the country's fifth largest and most populous state.The results of the polls would be declared on March 6. (ANI)