Note ban puts BJP on the back foot

Centre did not use opportunities to mitigate people's 'distress'

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s expectations from the first two phases of elections in Uttar Pradesh should be modest, if the results of the Assembly polls of 2007 and 2012 are a measure.

Of the 73 seats that polled in the first round on Saturday, the BJP picked up only 12 seats in the 2012 elections and seven in 2007. In the second phase on Wednesday, where 67 seats are up for grabs, the BJP’s showing was as unimpressive: Seven in 2007 and 11 in 2012.

Therefore, to position the BJP as the centrepiece of the polls in western