A BJP supporter in Baghpat.
At Baraut in Western Uttar Pradesh, right in front of Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal office, Narendra Modi arrived to a rousing reception in support of Dr Satyapal Singh, Mumbai police commissioner till recently, and now BJP candidate from the RLD stronghold of Baghpat.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has won seven times. Yet, as he faces a political debutant in Dr Singh, the contest is not likely to be easy. Samajwadi Party's Haji Ghulam Mohammad, BSP's Prashant Choudhary and AAP's Soumendra Dutta are also in the fray.
"We respect Choudhary Charan Singh," said Mr Modi, making a reference to Mr Singh's father. "But his own son has betrayed his path...Let him continue to fly in his planes. We don't need a 'hawai neta', not connected with ground realities."
Mr Singh was quick with a rebuttal. "What does Modi know about my father? Sugarcane farmers have not been paid but that's because of private mills."
Dr Satyapal Singh said, "This place is just 50 odd km from Delhi but 50,000 km away from development." In response Mr Singh said, "Yes, roads are bad but they are not built by the MP but by the state government. BJP too ruled the state in the past 20 years."
In a region where caste politics still influences voting decisions, will the cabinet clearance for Jat reservation in the OBC quota help Ajit Singh or will Modi's development agenda strike a chord?
"I don't know the local candidate of the BJP here but my vote is for Modi," said Harishchandra, a voter.
Another voter explains, "Older lot of people still are supporters of Ajit Singh...younger voters are inclined towards Modi."
This constituency of Jats and Muslims were brought together during Choudhary Charan Singh's time, but last year's riots in neighbouring Muzzafarnagar and Shamli made Jat leaders anxious that they would lose their base.
A Muslim resident said, "There was a feeling that the votes will swing towards BJP and Modi but after the reservation announcement, people have started returning to RLD."
Brij Bhushan Bharadwaj, who owns a jaggery making unit, has been voting in every election since the late 50s. He points to the fresh jaggery and says, "This jaggery looks more appealing to customers when you add a little colour. Politicians are also doing that...Let's see who manages to do the best job."