A strong showing at the polls would strengthen his chances of a second term in 2019. "The situation gets very bad here sometimes - there is fighting between groups, between Hindus and Muslims," said Bhagwati Prasad, who sells materials for Hindu cremation ceremonies outside a temple in Lucknow. If there is a Hindu-Muslim fight I have to stand with the Hindus. "The complexity of such "vote-bank" politics makes it hard to predict outcomes in India's first-past-the-post electoral system. Other polls put the BJP ahead.Results from Uttar Pradesh, along with elections in the states of Punjab, Goa , Uttarakhand and Manipur, are due on March 11.

Source: Economic Times February 10, 2017 22:52 UTC