"No!" says a government official who has been observing the developments in the current election from close quarters. "Where the candidate is a Brahmin, the Dalits will vote for him. But where the candidate belongs to the Scheduled Caste, you cannot be sure whether the Brahmin will vote for him. Here the voting public first looks at family, then caste and then religion before voting," he says.

Is anyone bothered about development and other serious issues in Uttar Pradesh?

It doesn't seem so. The general belief is that the BSP will do very well in this poll, especially since the Election Commission has ensured that there are no malpractices.

This election is unique in that it has been conducted peacefully. With voting percentages falling very low, the caste which comes out in numbers to vote will decide the winner.

The Dalits have always been known to vote. The higher castes cannot be depended upon to do the same.

Image: Mau resident Haithram feels though the Mulayam Singh government has many schemes on paper, none reach the poor.

Also see: The most talked about ad in poll-obsessed UP

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