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{/googleAds} Groups of Bhartiya Janata Party local leaders from Agra, Firozabad, Mathura and who returned from what they described as the biggest ever rally at Meerut, addressed by Narendra Modi, BJP's prime ministerial candidate, said the "battle for the 26 seats of west UP has begun and the party is confident of winning at least 20 in the coming Lok Sabha polls."

Amit Jain of Mathura said "everywhere there is a wave in favour of the BJP. The kisans of Meerut division who were with the Ajit Singh party, have en masse thrown their weight and expressed their resolve to see Modi as the new prime minister."
Clearly, the riots in the region have come as a windfall for the BJP. "The dent in the Ajit Singh vote banks is clearly discernible," commented Raghvendraji, a political worker.

While the Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh held one of the biggest rallies in Agra three days ago, "in a BJP bastion," the BJP " has demonstrated its new found strength in the Aligarh and Meerut divisions," with former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh back in the fold, commented a local leader of the party, Premendra Jain.

Kalyan Singh's revolt last time had cost the party dear, Jain said.

The Samajwadi Party workers, meanwhile, were on a new high with "cycle yatras" in the district. "Such passion and fervour has rarely been witnessed among party workers. Despite the chill and cold, party workers all over have been participating in the cycle yatras drawing huge support," said Rahul Chaturvedi, president of the Lohia Vahini in the district.

"The Bahujan Samaj Party is still busy doing its home work, the district leaders assessing the feedback and monitoring the work done by office bearers in the past 20 odd months," said a youth leader of the party, Arun Pushkar. Districts of Agra, Mathura, Aligarh, Hathras, and adjoining areas have sizeable dalit vote banks, which can make a big difference to the final outcome at the hustings.

The Aam Aadmi Party, at the moment looks a non-starter in this region. "Of course the hype and euphoria is there, but at the grassroots, voter-management, and an effective poll infrastructure alone can guarantee success. Agra or Mathura is not Delhi. The caste equations still continue to influence voter choices and the poll managers of the parties are working hard to keep the "thekedaars" in good humour," said social activist Shravan Kumar Singh.