The banknote ban, launched by PM Modi three months ago to purge the economy of untaxed income and proceeds of crime and corruption, has disrupted daily life and commerce, and caused the economy to decelerate.
On the campaign trail, PM Modi has said he had the interests of the poor at heart in making the move – the biggest gamble of his prime ministership. A strong showing at the polls would strengthen his chances of a second term in 2019.
“The results will tell us whether Modi continues to enjoy unquestioned support or if it has started to erode,” said RK Mishra, an independent political analyst based in the state capital, Lucknow.
PM Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) polled 42 per cent of the vote in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 general election, sweeping 71 out of 80 seats on its way to claiming India’s biggest national mandate in three decades.
Yet voters have shown growing impatience that Modi’s campaign promises of development and “better days” to come have failed to deliver new jobs to a state where per capita incomes average less than $750 a year and many communities lack access to power, clean water and basic medical services.
“It is the Godzilla of states,” said BJP national spokesman Nalin Kohli, as he looked out over the darkened streets of Lucknow on a recent evening.
