Uttar Pradesh Elections 2022: The many moods, colours and voices behind the vote

Ahead of the seventh and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh state elections, Consulting Editor (Photo) Madhu Kapparath captures some of the action and colour on the campaign and voting trail since it be

Mar 04, 2022, 18:30 IST7 min

<p>Unfazed by the crowding around her, Kanta Kirshanpal, a school teacher, helps the locals confirm their names on the electoral lists on the morning of the voting day in Baraut in Uttar Pradesh. Baraut, February 10, 2022</p>

1/27

Unfazed by the crowding around her, Kanta Kirshanpal, a school teacher, helps the locals confirm their names on the electoral lists on the morning of the voting day in Baraut in Uttar Pradesh. Baraut, February 10, 2022

Image by Madhu Kapparath

2/27

Shamim Hanif from a mohalla in Khail exercises her vote at the polling booth in Shamli. Articulate when asked if she exercised the choice of wearing a burqa, she asks, &ldquoWhat you don&rsquot see doesn&rsquot confuse you, does it?&rdquo Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, February 10, 2022

Image by Madhu Kapparath

3/27

A polling official helps Rajni sign up before she casts her vote at the Mahawatpur booth in Baoli. Refusing to give her surname, Rajni said she was in a hurry because her ageing mother, who had left home with her, had turned back midway seeing no reason to go on to the voting booth. Baoli, Baghpat, February 10, 2022

Image by Madhu Kapparath

4/27

A vast swathe of people cover the Sikar mela ground on the outskirts of Unnao, dwarfing the faraway stage where Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks. At many electronic screens, the villagers strain against the afternoon sun to glimpse the Prime Minister, and clap when he thunders, &ldquoEarlier, you had to know English to study medicine or engineering&hellip&rdquo. Chandankheda, Unnao, Fe

Image by Madhu Kapparath

5/27

On the outskirts of Shamli, on agricultural land they have leased, Baburam and his brother Tejpal, make jaggery with the help of their sons. Baburam, who was working as a labourer in New Delhi, came back home when money and ration ran out during the Covid-19 induced lockdown. The fear of isolation he felt in those days hasn&rsquot left him, he says. Lilon, Shamli, February 10, 2022

Image by Madhu Kapparath

6/27

Anil Kumar lounges on his cot in Jat-dominated Taharpur Bhabisa, in the midst of a harvesting season in the country&rsquos biggest sugarcane growing state. He denies reports that farmer arrears were one of the lowest in the last year, and resents the expensive electricity he has to use for irrigation. It must be free, says the Jat from a well-to-do family in the village. Shamli, February

Image by Madhu Kapparath

7/27

Farm labourers from Loharipur, some among them Dalit, leap over a divide on the highway on their way to their homes. They are unanimous in their choice of the vote and the reason behind it: BJP has promised Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries two free gas cylinders. Baghpat, February 10, 2022

Image by Madhu Kapparath

8/27

Vehicles on the road to Gorakhpur often veer off onto mud embankments as the work on the Varanasi-Gorakhpur highway along Ami river gets underway at Ojhauli, Gorakhpur, February 12, 2022

Image by Madhu Kapparath

9/27

Deepak Rajbhar, a Class 10 student in Shivale, joins his neighbours as they dig for leftover bits of metal bars from a highway construction site that was previously used for casting concrete slabs. Rajbhar, like the others, hopes to sell them for some money till the day he can fulfil his dream of joining the Indian Army. Many in his village couldn&rsquot because the middlemen were asking

Image by Madhu Kapparath

10/27

Students stream out after a Maths class at Chetana Plus Coaching Centre in Dobhi, Jaunpur. Prince Maurya and Himanshu Singh (third and fourth from left) from SGS Inter College are aiming for NEET and joining the civil services. Dobhi, Jaunpur, February 12, 2022

Image by Madhu Kapparath