The elections in Uttar Pradesh will show where India is heading
Can Narendra Modi’s BJP recreate its successes of the 2010s?
THE STATE of Uttar Pradesh is a tad larger than the United Kingdom and three and a half times as populous. Covering much of the vast, fertile Gangetic Plain and pressed up against the border with Nepal, it is home to such treasures as the Taj Mahal and the Hindu holy city of Varanasi, as well as fast-expanding industrial zones, an astonishing 97,941 villages and the constituencies of one-in-seven Indian MPs. Increasing the number of parliamentary seats it took in UP (India loves initials) from 10 to 71 was a key part of the success which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win power in 2014 and made its leader, Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “The other midterms”
Briefing February 12th 2022
From the February 12th 2022 edition
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