Assembly Election Results 2017: Power became a powerful tool for BJP in UP

A meme circulated on WhatsApp during campaigning for the recent Assembly elections showed Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi trying to duck electricity cables on stage. In the same picture, Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav seemed unperturbed. The caption said Akhilesh knew there was no electricity running in the cables.

The picture, passed around by officials in Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal’s office, became a metaphor for the high-pitched election campaign in UP. Electricity for all has never been as strong a political plank as this time, though infrastructure, or the lack of it, has been a poll issue for