UP elections 2017: Are pollsters underestimating the power of Nota?

Along with Independents and Registered (Unrecognised) parties, Nota could command a high vote share

Among the five states going to polls, Uttar Pradesh is seen as the most exciting battleground this year. With 403 Assembly seats, the state is a big political arena that wields its muscle in central power equations, too. In the run-up to the seven-phase UP Assembly elections that begin February 11, there is enough to keep pollsters and election pundits busy. From the likelihood of a hung Assembly after the Congress party deciding to hitch a ride on the Samajwadi Party’s (SP’s) bicycle to the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as the single-largest party and Mayawati’s underdog Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)