'Match fixing'

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh is leaving no stone unturned to win the prestigious Lucknow parliamentary seat. Last month, it was rumoured that he called Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh requesting him to put up a "weak" candidate against him. At least, that is the explanation for the SP replacing Ashok Bajpai, an established figure in the constituency, with Abhishek Mishra. Singh is already facing a tough contest from Congress state president Rita Bhauguna Joshi and Bahujan Samaj Party's senior leader Nakul Dubey. In the meantime, another rumour has started in Uttar Pradesh: that to make Narendra Modi win, Singh has to be defeated. Singh poses a threat to Modi, if the BJP fails to get the desired number of seats. Either way, Singh's future will be sealed in the ballot box on Wednesday.