BJP likely to win Uttar Pradesh but with smaller mandate, says Sudha Pai

Pai highlights the important issues in the upcoming polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to return to power, although opinion polls indicate a significant reduction in the number of seats, says SUDHA PAI, former professor, Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University. In an interview with Aditi Phadnis, she highlights the important issues in the upcoming polls. Edited excerpts:

After five years of being virtually comatose, the Samajwadi Party (SP) seems to be storming back into contention. Where did the party go wrong earlier and what is it doing right now?

The SP was traditionally viewed as a Yadav-Muslim party by people from the backward