<p class="title">The entry of Congress star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi has forced the SP-BSP alliance and the BJP to "re-draw" their respective electoral strategies in Uttar Pradesh.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The leaders of these parties admitted that Priyanka's entry could change the electoral equations in the state, that sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to sources, senior leaders of the SP, the BSP and the BJP went into a huddle soon after the announcement of Priyanka's appointment as the AICC general secretary and in-charge of the eastern Uttar Pradesh.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As political analysts opined that Priyanka's arrival in Uttar Pradesh's electoral scene could affect the vote banks of both the SP-BSP alliance and the saffron party, the leaders of these parties said that they would be "re-drawing" their electoral strategies.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"There is a possibility of at least a section of the Muslim vote bank shifting towards the Congress after Priyanka's entry... a division in the Muslim votes will affect our electoral prospects," said a senior SP leader while speaking to <span class="italic">DH</span> here on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The alliance's worry seems to stem from the fact that Muslim votes play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the polls on more than a dozen Lok Sabha seats in the eastern region. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Muslims are in sizable numbers in Azamgarh, Mau, Baharaich, Barabanki, Gonda, Dumariaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharth Nagar and some other seats. A shift of the Muslim votes could severally hamper the prospects of the SP-BSP alliance in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sources said that SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati could meet in the next few days to discuss their strategy. </p>.<p class="bodytext">BJP leaders also sounded worried, though they maintained for the record that Priyanka would have no effect on the party's electoral prospects.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We will need to re-draw our strategy... Priyanka's entry may have some impact on the upper caste votes," admitted a senior state BJP leader here.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sources in the Congress said that Priyanka would focus on the seats, where the grand old party had registered a victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. These seats include Kushinagar, Baharaich, Barabanki, Unnao, Dhaurahara, Bareilly and Moradabad.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Congress' political rivals also apprehend that some of their leaders may now join the Congress after being denied Lok Sabha nominations.</p>
<p class="title">The entry of Congress star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi has forced the SP-BSP alliance and the BJP to "re-draw" their respective electoral strategies in Uttar Pradesh.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The leaders of these parties admitted that Priyanka's entry could change the electoral equations in the state, that sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to sources, senior leaders of the SP, the BSP and the BJP went into a huddle soon after the announcement of Priyanka's appointment as the AICC general secretary and in-charge of the eastern Uttar Pradesh.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As political analysts opined that Priyanka's arrival in Uttar Pradesh's electoral scene could affect the vote banks of both the SP-BSP alliance and the saffron party, the leaders of these parties said that they would be "re-drawing" their electoral strategies.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"There is a possibility of at least a section of the Muslim vote bank shifting towards the Congress after Priyanka's entry... a division in the Muslim votes will affect our electoral prospects," said a senior SP leader while speaking to <span class="italic">DH</span> here on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The alliance's worry seems to stem from the fact that Muslim votes play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the polls on more than a dozen Lok Sabha seats in the eastern region. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Muslims are in sizable numbers in Azamgarh, Mau, Baharaich, Barabanki, Gonda, Dumariaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharth Nagar and some other seats. A shift of the Muslim votes could severally hamper the prospects of the SP-BSP alliance in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sources said that SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati could meet in the next few days to discuss their strategy. </p>.<p class="bodytext">BJP leaders also sounded worried, though they maintained for the record that Priyanka would have no effect on the party's electoral prospects.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We will need to re-draw our strategy... Priyanka's entry may have some impact on the upper caste votes," admitted a senior state BJP leader here.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sources in the Congress said that Priyanka would focus on the seats, where the grand old party had registered a victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. These seats include Kushinagar, Baharaich, Barabanki, Unnao, Dhaurahara, Bareilly and Moradabad.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Congress' political rivals also apprehend that some of their leaders may now join the Congress after being denied Lok Sabha nominations.</p>
