Rahul Gandhi, Amit Shah heat up political landscape in UP

The seven-phased polling in the state would begin from February 11 and end on March 8

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ttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi wave during their road show, as a monkey uses an electic cable to move across a street in the background, in Lucknow

Virendra Singh Rawat Lucknow

Last Updated : Feb 11 2017 | 5:44 PM IST

The high profile visits of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah to Lucknow has sent the political heat soaring in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh state, where elections are due from February 11 onwards.

While Shah was in town on Saturday to release BJP’s election manifesto, Gandhi arrived here on Sunday to kick off a road show in consort with ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) president and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

The SP-Congress combine is aimed at consolidating their traditional vote bank to keep BJP at bay in the crucial state of