'If the older generation of Samajwadi Party leaders come back to power, it will ruin the opportunity.

They will misgovern, they will be stale.' 'UP and the SP's destiny is inter-linked right now,' Professor Rajesh Misra, head of the sociology department at Lucknow University, tells Sheela Bhatt.

Uttar Pradesh has shown that it has moved on to the 21st century. The results are along the expected lines that
I had expressed earlier (Put your bets on the Samajwadi Party'). I am not surprised. There is only one change in my assessment. As the seven-phase election progressed, people felt that 'SP is on the winning streak.' The media projections also created this buzz. People who had not voted took a firm decision to go with the SP in the fifth phase onwards, particularly in Rohilkhand and western UP. There was tremendous anti-incumbency against Mayawati. This is surely a caste-based election. Akhilesh Yadav may say that people have voted beyond castes and religion, but that is not entirely true. Many castes of UP ganged up against Mayawati to throw her out. I would say figures would prove that threefourth of the voters voted on caste lines, but many young voters went for the SP, hoping that it will improve the scenarios of education, youth affairs and rural development in the state. Please Click NEXT to read further...

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Image: Akhilesh Yadav will be a whiff of fresh air in UP politics, Professor Rajesh Misra feels
Tags: Samajwadi Part