The 2007 Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly election was held during April–May 2007. It was held to elect a government for the state of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
Background
With 166 million people, U.P. is about the size of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and the
Benelux
The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...
nations combined. There are 113 million voters, and 403 electoral seats, with an average of a quarter of a million voters in each constituency. The elections were conducted for 403 seats at 110,000 polling stations under very strict guidelines by the autonomous
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by Constitution of India, the Constitution of the Republic of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in the Republic of India. It is headed by a Chief Ele ...
. More than 46% of the electorate cast their votes.
Schedule
The election was held in seven phases:
* Phase 1 : 2007-04-07
* Phase 2 : 2007-04-13
* Phase 3 : 2007-04-18
* Phase 4 : 2007-04-23
* Phase 5 : 2007-04-28
* Phase 6 : 2007-05-03
* Phase 7 : 2007-05-08
Parties
A total of 129 parties fielded 2,487 candidates, while 2020 candidates stood as
independents, for the total of 406 seats.
Criminalisation in the U.P. 2007 elections
The number of criminal-politicians participating in the elections have been
growing, particularly because they have been successful in the past. In the
U.P. Assembly elections, 2002,
candidates with criminal records won 206 out of
403 seats in the assembly, i.e. more criminals were elected than regular politicians.
In 2007, the participation by criminals increased significantly. Prior to elections,
74% more criminal politicians were given tickets by the
mainstream parties (Source: UP Election Watch, independent NGO headed by ex-DIG Ishwar P. Dwivedi
[
]):
#
Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with Religious ...
(BSP): 36.27%
#
Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
(SP): 27.01%
#
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
(BJP): 23.05%
#
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
(INC) : 21.60%
The
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by Constitution of India, the Constitution of the Republic of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in the Republic of India. It is headed by a Chief Ele ...
, the autonomous body charged with conducting elections, was facing intense media pressure to check criminalization related irregularities in the electoral process. Extremely strict measures were enforced, bringing in 639 companies of paramilitary forces to prevent musclepower effects. Any deviations from prescribed norms led to candidates being debarred. To help manage the situation, elections were held in seven stages.
At least six candidates campaigned from jails, broadcasting live speeches through illegal mobile phones smuggled into their jail cells while jailors looked the other way.
However, partially owing to the strict measures adopted during elections, only 100 persons with criminal records won the elections (as opposed to 206 in the previous elections). These include the elected Chief Minister
Mayawati
Kumari Mayawati (born Kumari Mayawati Das; 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician who served as the 18th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1995 to 1995, 1997 to 1997, 2002 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2012. She is the national president of t ...
, who is facing embezzlement charges stemming from the Rs.175
crore
Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
(US$35 million)
Taj Corridor Case, the leader of the opposition
Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician, a socialism, socialist figure and founder of the Samajwadi Party. Over the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three t ...
, and other ganglords and hardened criminals (see
Criminal-Politicians below). In many of these instances, opposition campaigners did not feel safe enough to put up a vibrant campaign, and in some situations, the mainstream parties reached alliances with the criminals and did not put up serious competition (e.g.,
Mukhtar Ansari
Mukhtar Ansari (30 June 1963 – 28 March 2024) was an Indian gangster, convicted murderer, and politician, based in Uttar Pradesh. He was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Mau constituency five times, including twice ...
). However, to some extent, these victories may also reflect a perception that these criminal politicians are able to deliver some level of well-being to their communities.
For example, the
Soraon
Soraon is a town and one of eight Tehsil of Prayagraj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Soraon Tehsil consist of 404 villages/Gram Panchayats. Muhammadpur Hathigahan being most populous Gram Panchayat and Pabnah and Uthgi being least ...
Assembly constituency in
Allahabad district
Prayagraj district, formerly known as Allahabad district, is the most populous district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Prayagraj city is the district headquarters of this district. The District is divided into blocks within tehsils. A ...
is one where all 11 candidates in the fray had criminal cases pending against them. Here Mohd. Mustaba Siddiqi of the Bahujan Samaj Party (38280 votes, 29.41%) defeated Mohd. Ayub of the
Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
(32739/25.15%).
Alleged and convicted criminal-politicians who won
Samajwadi Party
*
Mukhtar Ansari
Mukhtar Ansari (30 June 1963 – 28 March 2024) was an Indian gangster, convicted murderer, and politician, based in Uttar Pradesh. He was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Mau constituency five times, including twice ...
, (Independent, supported by
Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
): won as (Independent) from
Mau
Mau may refer to:
Places Brazil
* Maú River, an alternate name for the Ireng River
Kenya
* Mau Escarpment
* Mau Forest
India
* Mau, Bhind, a town in Madhya Pradesh
* Mau, Mawal, Pune district, Marahrashtra
* Mau, Punjab, a village ...
, while he was in
Jhansi
Jhansi ( ) is a historic city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (Toshan) Balwant Nagar was the old name of Jhansi. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand, on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme ...
jail, facing charges in the murder of BJP ganglord-MLA from
Ghazipur
Ghazipur, is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. It is located on the Ganges (Ganga) ...
, Krishnanand Rai. His brother Afzal Ansari became the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
MP from Ghazipur, after Krishnanand Rai was killed, and is also in jail for the murder, which was apparently executed by the
Munna Bajrangi gang which is known to be close to the Ansari's. Mukhtar is named in 29 criminal cases (the third highest in these elections), but is close to
Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician, a socialism, socialist figure and founder of the Samajwadi Party. Over the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three t ...
, and the Samajwadi Party did not put up a candidate against him. He also is said to be close to
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi (, ; ; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress, a big-tent liberal political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independence history. ...
's
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
party, who put up only a dummy candidate, Gopal, against him; Gopal garnered only three thousand votes and lost his deposit. A large faction of the Mau Congress executive committee members had resigned en masse to protest against choosing such a dummy candidate.
Despite Mukhtar's muscle power however, the
Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with Religious ...
(BSP) candidate Vijay Pratap managed to garner 42% of the vote, and Mukhtar won by seven thousand votes (47%) only
Currently lodged at Gorakhpur Jail, where his case might take a long time to come to trial. He won the
Lakshmipur
Lakshmipur () is a city and headquarter of Lakshmipur District in the Chittagong Division, Bangladesh.
Demographics
According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Lakshmipur had 17,009 households and a population of 83,112. 18,345 (22.07%) were u ...
Constituency seat in
Gorakhpur District by a margin of nearly 20 thousand votes (12%).
*
Raghuraj Pratap Singh
Raghuraj Pratap Singh, (born 31 October 1969), commonly known as Raja Bhaiya, is an Indian politician, currently serving as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the 18th Uttar Pradesh Assembly, ...
(Independent, supported by Samajwadi Party/Bharatiya Janata Party): alias Raja Bhaiyya, with 35 criminal cases filed against him. Raja Bhaiyya is from the princely family of
Kunda. A skull found in a palace pond allegedly belongs to scooterist Santosh Misra who was guilty of daring to overtake his convoy. He won as an independent from Kunda with an overwhelming margin of 53,000 votes (48%) over Shiv Prakash Mishra of the BSP.
*
Mukhtar Ansari
Mukhtar Ansari (30 June 1963 – 28 March 2024) was an Indian gangster, convicted murderer, and politician, based in Uttar Pradesh. He was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Mau constituency five times, including twice ...
's eldest brother
Sibakatullah Ansari (Samajwadi Party): won from
Mohammadabad, which used to be the constituency for the slain BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai. Shibakatullah defeated Krishnanand's wife Alka Rai (BJP), who was standing on a platform of seeking justice for the murder of her husband, apparently by the Ansari's
*
Chandrabhadra Singh alias Sonu (Samajwadi Party), from
Issauli in
Sultanpur district
Sultanpur district is a district in the Awadh region of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This district is a part of Ayodhya division of the state. The administrative headquarters of the district is Sultanpur city. The total area of Sultanpur ...
, is accused, along with seven others, in the murder of the gangster-Saint Gyaneshwar in
Allahabad
Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...
. After Mayawati's accession to power, Chandrabhadra was arrested as one of her first directives
Bahujan Samaj Party
*
Badshah Singh (BSP): Don from
Maudaha
Maudaha is a city and a Municipal Board in Hamirpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India.
History
Maudaha district participated in the elections of 1937 which were conducted under the Government of India Act 1935. In order to organize activities of ...
, is facing six criminal charges, including attempted murder, extortion, and kidnapping. Won at
Maudaha
Maudaha is a city and a Municipal Board in Hamirpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India.
History
Maudaha district participated in the elections of 1937 which were conducted under the Government of India Act 1935. In order to organize activities of ...
by defeating Apni Chiraiya Prajapati of the
Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
by a margin of 17 thousand votes (15%). Currently a Minister of State in the Mayawati cabinet.
[
]
*
Anand Sen Yadav
Anand Sen Yadav is an Indian politician former Minister and MLA Affiliated to Samajwadi Party.
Sen Yadav first won the 2002 elections from Milkipur, with the Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist politic ...
, (BSP): Son of BSP gangster
Member of Parliament Mitra Sen Yadav (currently being investigated in the
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
scam along with
Babulal Katara). Anand, who is in Jail facing over 12 cases including murder and extortion,
won from Milkipur, and has been appointed Minister of State in the Mayawati cabinet.
*
Daddan or Daddan Misra (BSP), from Bhinga. According to his election affidavit, Daddan has cases registered under IPC 147, 148, 199, 448, 453, 323, 427, 511;
*
Jamuna Nishad from
Pipraich (cabinet minister, resigned on 2008-06-08 after being named in the murder of a policeman.)
*
Avadhpal Singh Yadav (BSP), won from
Aliganj
Aliganj is a town and a municipal board in the Etah district of Uttar Pradesh, India. C.K. Sethi, the former Agriculture Chairman of India and a former Member of Parliament, belonged to this city. The official name of Aliganj is Pargana Azamnaga ...
and is currently Minister of State.
*
Jayant Kumar Singh (BSP) from
Phephna, Vidhan Sabha Ballia (cabinet minister).
*
Shazil Islam Ansari
Shazil Islam Ansari is an Indian politician and was a member of the Sixteenth Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh in India. He represents the Bhojipura constituency of Uttar Pradesh and is a member of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council political p ...
(BSP): won from
Bhojipura, and appointed a minister of state in Maya cabinet.
Out of 19 ministers of state in the Mayawati cabinet, eight have violent criminal charges pending against them.
[
]
Rashtriya Parivartan Dal
* D. P. Yadav
Dharam Pal Yadav, also known as D. P. Yadav, is an Indian politician and a former cabinet minister in the Government of Uttar Pradesh. He belongs to Sarfabad village of Noida in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. D. P. Yadav has served 4 times as M ...
, mafia don and erstwhile liquor baron from Western U.P. (Rashtriya Parivartan Dal): Scraped through from Sahaswan
Sahaswan is a city and a municipal board in Budaun district in the Indian state of western Uttar Pradesh. It is also an administrative Block, 0177 is the block code.
Demographics
According to 2011 Census of India the total area of the Sahaswa ...
, with a 109-vote margin (0.1%) over the Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
incumbent Omkar Singh
* D. P. Yadav's wife Umlesh Yadav (Rashtriya Parivartan Dal) won more handily from Bisauli
Bisauli is a town and a municipal board in Badaun district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is settled on Badaun - Moradabad Highway. Bisauli is known for its temples and mosques abounding the town. Bisauli is a constituency of District ...
, defeating incumbent Samajwadi Party legislator Yogendra Singh Kunnu with a margin of 13,400 votes (10%).
Alleged and convicted criminal-politicians who lost
Rashtriya Lok Dal
* Chhotelal Vishwakarma of Rashtriya Lok Dal
Rashtriya Lok Dal ( RLD; ) is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. It was founded by Chaudhary Ajit Singh, son of the former prime minister of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh in 1996 as a brea ...
, with 24 cases against him,[ lost from Gangapur in ]Varanasi District
Varanasi district is a district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, with the holy city of Varanasi as the district headquarters. It is also the headquarters of the Varanasi division which contains 4 districts (including Varanasi).
It is s ...
. He polled only two thousand votes and lost his deposit. Surendra Singh Patel of the Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
won from this constituency with a lead of ten thousand votes (6%) over Neel Ratan Patel of Apna Dal.
Apna Dal/Bharatiya Janata Party
* Pawan Pandey (Apna Dal Apna Dal may refer to:
* Apna Dal (Soneylal)
* Apna Dal (Kamerawadi)
{{Disambiguation ...
, supported by Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
), who has 63 criminal cases pending against him (the highest number of cases pending against any candidate in this election) lost in Akbarpur, trailing the winner Ram Achal Rajbhar of Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with Religious ...
(BSP) by nearly twelve thousand votes (13%).
* Abhay Singh, a criminal-politician in jail charged with several murder cases against him, fielded his wife Sarita Singh on Apna Dal ticket from Bikapur
Bikapur is a town, tehsil and nagar panchayat of Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh state in India. Bikapur is 25 km south of the district headquarters Ayodhya city.
Demographics
In 2011 total population of Bikapur 14,453.
Governance and ...
seat in Faizabad district
Ayodhya district (formerly Faizabad district) is one of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh, districts in the northern Indian states and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ayodhya is its administrative headquarters. The d ...
. At one point, he conducted a meeting with the sector-in-charge inside the jail. Abhay Singh has also been accused of making threatening calls to voters from inside the Faizabad
Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city located in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the southern bank of the River Saryu about 6.5 km from Ayodhya City, the district headquarter, ...
jail. While Sarita Singh polled forty thousand votes, she came third, trailing the winner Jitendra Kumar Bablu Bhaiya (BSP) by 13 thousand votes (8%).
A number of other criminal politicians mentioned in the press, such as the new bandit queen Seema Parihar
Seema Parihar is an Indian politician and former bandit. She was a member of the Samajwadi Party. Parihar claims that her inspiration is Phoolan Devi, who was known as the Bandit Queen, and had also been a bandit before becoming a politician. ...
, wife of the slain dacoit Nirbhay Gujjar, do not appear on the candidate lists, and may have been removed due to irregularities
in their nomination papers or otherwise.
Election result
Exit polls suggested that the Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with Religious ...
may emerge as the largest party with between 110 and 160 seats; however, it far outstripped this prediction collecting an absolute majority of 206 seats out of a total 403 in the assembly. In contrast, Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
, Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
and the Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
were reduced very significantly.
These elections were another major example of the pollsters getting it wrong at Indian Elections. In a similar pattern to the 2004 General Elections. The pollsters overpredicted the votes of the BJP.
The results by party are as follows:
Defections
The BSP had won 98 seats in the last elections,
but 33 MLAs defected to the Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
in 2003, in a move that may
have been illegal but was permitted by the then speaker Kesri Nath Tripathi.
Blanked out
In addition, 116 parties fielded candidates but failed to win a seat. The parties
with more than 50 candidates fielded without outcome are:
:* Indian Justice Party (121)
:* Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (97)
:* Lok Dal
Lokdal or Lok Dal is an Indian political party based on agriculture policies, founded by former Prime Minister Charan Singh. It was founded on 26 September 1979 by merging Janata Party (Secular), Socialist Party (Limaye) and Orissa Janata Party ...
(76)
:* National Lokhind Party (74)
:* Lok Jan Shakti Party
The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP, ) was a state political party mainly based in the state of Bihar, India. The party was formed in 2000 when Ram Vilas Paswan split from Janata Dal. The party had a considerable following amongst Dalits in Bihar. T ...
(72)
:* Rashtriya Janata Dal
The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: National People's Party) is an Indian political party, mainly based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The party's support base has traditionally been Other ...
(66)
:* Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...
(59)
However, it is likely that some of these parties may have taken away votes
from other groups; e.g., Udit Raj
Dr. Udit Raj (born 1 January 1958) is an Indian politician and retired Indian Revenue Service officer who is a member of the Indian National Congress. He was a member of parliament between 2014 and 2019 in the Lok Sabha, representing North Wes ...
's Indian Justice Party has a good standing
among Dalit
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
s who also constitute an important chunk of the BSP vote bank.
Rainbow coalition
A characteristic of the BSP win was the amalgamation of Brahmin
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
votes into the Dalit
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
dominated party, an approach that has been called the rainbow coalition. This is in contrast to the decades-old trend of exploiting deep-rooted caste divisions in the state between Dalit
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
s, Upper Castes
Upper may refer to:
* Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot
* Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both
* ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
, Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s and different OBC groups, which tend to vote in blocks.[Shashi Ranjan . ]
Uttar Pradesh Election Opinion Poll 2017
"],Uttar Pradesh, 24 March 2016.
Results by Constituencies
This is the list of winners consolidated from the Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by Constitution of India, the Constitution of the Republic of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in the Republic of India. It is headed by a Chief Ele ...
party-wise results pages
ECI website
.
References
External links
Election Commission of India
Information About Uttar Pradesh Elections
{{Uttar Pradesh elections
State Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, 2007
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
2000s in Uttar Pradesh
April 2007 in Asia
May 2007 in India