the 'Ustad' scheme in his constituency Varanasi to help weavers.

For the last many elections, Muslims have been voting for the party that is seen as capable of defeating the BJP, and switching between the SP and BSP.

Upper castes have mainly backed the BJP in recent elections.

In the event of a triangular contest the winning party will need about 40 per cent of the vote polled.

And it is here that the votes of the numerically smaller communities will come into play.