10 years ago
NDTV's Niha Masih is travelling across India to cover these elections. Here are some snapshots from her journey.
Amit Shah came under the scanner of the Election Commission again last week for calling Azamgarh "base of terrorists".
BJP's General Secretary and Modi's close aide, Amit Shah is credited with the successful campaign in Uttar Pradesh.
At a village in Lalganj, a Dalit family watches news of Modi's rally being denied permission in Benaras. They say they have heard a lot about Modi and the Gujarat model through news channels.
A fascinated crowd watches Modi's helicopter taking off.
In a departure from his earlier speeches, Gujarat finds very little mention in Modi's speech. He focusses instead on sharp attacks on rivals and his humble origins.
The media enclosure at the rally ground got taken over by enthusiastic crowds filming Modi's speech.
The Lalganj rally crowd was almost entirely male; the few women who made it were herded out as the crowd started getting unruly.
Unlike other politicians who arrive hours later for rallies, Modi's helicopter lands just about 15 minutes into the scheduled time.
At a Modi rally in Lalganj, eastern Uttar Pradesh, policemen try to keep the charged crowds from breaking the barriers.
Pankaj Mudholkar of Akriti Promotions, the Indian affiliate of APCO says the brief to the agency was "to showcase the happy, happening images of Gujarat to the people".
American PR firm APCO has been handling the the Gujarat government's Vibrant Gujarat business summits since 2011.
Narendra Modi strides into the BJP headquarters to address rallies via 3D. He has addressed an unprecedented 440 rallies and held over 5000 pubic interactions in this high voltage election campaign.
Over a 1000 3D rallies during this election have helped the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate extend his reach across the country.
A large team of volunteers at Gandhinagar help out with logistics of the 3D rallies.
The 3D stage setup at the BJP office which beams to multiple locations.
The spanking new Gujarat BJP office near Koba Circle, Gandhinagar
People scrambling for buttermilk packets being distributed post the Modi rally in Guntur, Seemandhra.
Post the mega Modi-Naidu rally in Guntur, Seemandhra. Incidentally, TDP's version of NaMo - Naidu-Modi, has not gone down well with the BJP.
BJP-TDP alliance in Andhra Pradesh almost broke up a few weeks ago as the TDP was reportedly unhappy over BJP's candidate choices.
Andhra Pradesh Church Federation has issued an advisory asking its followers to vote for a secular party. Jagan's YSR is hoping to bag the minority votes in Seemandhra from the Congress.
Koneru Prasad, YSR's Vijaywada candidate, is the founder of Trimex Group (primarily into mining) with assets of Rs 137 crores. He is a co-accused in the Jagan disproportionate assets case.
A man showers flower petals from a roof top as the YSR candidate roadshow passes by.
Girls watching a YSR Congress party roadshow in Vijaywada.
Kesineni Srinivas, TDP candidate from Vijaywada is the owner of Kesineni Travels, declaring assets of Rs 128 crore.
TDP supporters campaigning at a residential enclave in Vijaywada.
Ayodhya Rami Reddy, YSR candidate from Narsaraopet in Seemandhra, is one of the richest candidates in the state with assets of over Rs 650 crores. He is the Chairman of Ramky Group with interests in real estate, construction and waste disposal. Reddy has been accused of investing in Jagan's media company in return for favours to his infra project.
Malla Reddy, owner of a group of educational institutions, is the TDP candidate from Malkajgiri in Telangana. He has declared assets of Rs 48 crores.
A bust of NT Rama Rao, founder of Telugu Desam Party and Rajiv Gandhi next to each other in Malkajgiri constituency, abutting Hyderabad.
Karthik drives around in a Sangyong Mahindra Rexton, which costs over Rs 20 lakhs. The average assets of a Lok Sabha candidate in Telangana are Rs 8.49 crores.
Karthik Reddy, Congress candidate from Chevella, is the son of Sabitha and Indra Reddy, both former Andhra Pradesh Home Ministers. His mother is currently facing a CBI enquiry in a mining scam.
Vishweshwar Reddy, TRS candidate from Chevella, is the richest candidate in Telangana and has declared assets of Rs 528 crores. He is the grandson of former deputy CM of Andhra, KV Ranga Reddy and is married to Sangita Reddy of Apollo Group.
Mukesh Kumar, shows his family's NREGA job card, who received 28 days of work in 2013 between 3 people, making only about Rs 2500, Daulatpura village, Jalaun, UP
NREGA job card of Mukesh's cousin, Bhupendra Kumar who received not even a day's employment in 2013. Daulatpura village, Jalaun, UP
In Jhansi's neighbouring district of Jalaun, there is only a dirt track leading to Daulatpura, village dominated by the Dalit subcaste of Ahirwars who along with the Jatavs, form the bulk of the Dalit vote in UP
Lack of water is the main issue in the Bundelkhand region which has seen 9 droughts in the last 14 years
Ironically last year there were floods in the village, destroying many houses such as this one of Ram Kumar, whose 8 year old daughter Binita got injured. None of the affected villagers received any compensation from the State government
Mamata Gupta of the NGO Parmarth has been working with drought hit villages like Daulatpur in Jalaun district. Parmarth imparts rainwater harvesting techniques to farmers and works with villagers on water conservation
Daulatpura was declared an Ambedkar Gram but never received any of the intended benefits. The only road in the village was made under the SP government
The only school in Daulatpur village is a primary one till Class 5, after which many children drop out as private schools are either too far or too expensive
Inspite of the lack of development, Jagdish Prasad, of Daulatpura village say they will always vote for Ms Mayawati even if she does no work. "Hum aur aap surakshit hain, aur kya chahiye" (You and me are safe, what else does one want?)
A pucca house built under the Ambedkar gram scheme in Birgovan
Houses built under the scheme also got a free electricity connection. In Birgovan, over 400 BPL families received the benefits
Another important need the Ambedkar-grams addressed was of toilets.
A man removes a sticker of the Congress Jhansi candidate, Pradeep Jain, at a house built under the Ambedkar-gram scheme in Birgovan. Under the scheme, initiated by the BSP, Dalit-majority villages get priority benefits of government schemes
Dalits from Birgovan village wait in the bus arranged by the local BSP unit to take them to the Mayawati rally in Jhansi city. They say there is no 'Modi wave', and that their vote is for the BSP as Behenji has always ensured their welfare
Pushpa Dubey, of the few Brahmin families in Birgovan village says this time the Brahmins will vote for Mr Modi as Ms Mayawati did work only for the Dalits, nothing for them.
A few kilometers from Jhansi a huge paramedical college lies vacant. It was commissioned under Ms Mayawati's rule but grounded after the SP formed the government
An unused mandi complex built under the Rs 7000 crore Bundelkhand package announced by Rahul Gandhi in 2010. Activists say almost none of the money reached the people and got swindled by the state politicians
Even though Ms Mayawati's speeches are delivered as monologues, they evoke strong crowd responses everytime she speaks of Dalit welfare.
A high turnout of women is common at Ms Mayawati rallies
Crowds run forward as Ms Mayawati arrives on stage to chants of "Chad gundon ki chhati par, mohar lagao haathi par" (Stand up against the goons and vote for elephant)
The Bahujan Volunteer Force was initiated by Kanshi Ram in the 80s and manages the security at BSP rallies.
Saddam Hussein is a 21-year-old volunteer with the Bahujan Volunteer Force. He says he joined the Force 6 months back as he was a fan of Ms Mayawati.
The crowd waits patiently, as Ms Mayawati arrives two hours late.
An overcoat-clad Ms Mayawati in hoardings at a rally in Jhansi, in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.
Congress has fielded, Ajay Rai, a local strongman who is pitching it as a local vs outsider plank saying "they (Mr Modi and Mr Kejriwal) are like Siberian cranes, election tourists who will only come during season"
Congress candidate from Benares Ajay Rai's supporters on their way to file his nomination, shouting "Kashi ki ek rai, Ajay Rai, Ajay Rai"
Congress office, Benares
Inside the Congress office, Benares
Madarasa at Bajardiha, a neighborhood in Benares which saw communal skirmishes just before the 2009 elections. Both the AAP and Congress are eyeing the 3 lakh strong Muslim population in Benares to dent the BJP's chances
At the public meeting, Mr Kejriwal admitted that the manner in which he resigned from the Delhi Government was a mistake in hindsight
An AAP supporter with a 'trishul' at the public meeting. Recently, Mr Kejriwal has begun to use religious overtones in his speeches with references to the Gita and 'Har Har Mahadev' chants
Unlike most political rallies, Mr Kejriwal's public meeting invited questions from the audience on slips like these. After a short speech, Mr Kejriwal spent an hour answering questions
A man films Arvind Kejriwal's speech during his Benares public meeting, which saw a modest turnout of about 2000 people
An AAP volunteer gets into an argument with a passerby before Arvind Kejriwal's public meeting at Cutting Memorial grounds in Nadesar, Benares
Workers at BJP's new party office in Benares
Ashok Dhawan, in charge of Narendra Modi's campaign, at the BJP office in Benares. Mr Dhawan is overseeing an intense ground campaign, which includes door to door canvassing and booth management
One of the AAP polling booths at Chandni Chowk on the voting day, where former journalist Ashutosh is locked in a close contest with Congress' Kapil Sibal and BJP' Dr. Harshvardhan.
Matia Mahal MLA Shoaib Iqbal is the other power player in the hunt for the Muslim vote. He's won the seat 5 times inspite of opposition from the Shahi Imam Bukhari, which he says shows that the Imam has no influence even in his own area. Iqbal himself is supporting the Congress and has been accused by his opponents of being 'managed', a charge he shrugs off saying support is on the basis of principles.
Shahi Imam's other brother, Yahya Bukhari, has come out in support of the AAP and publicly criticised the Shahi Imam for supporting the Congress, which according to him was 'most communal'.
Imam Bukhari's youngest brother, Tariq Bukhari, defends the Shahi Imam's decision to endorse the Congress, which came after meeting the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, who promised to look into the demands raised by them, including accountability for wrongful arrests of Muslim men.
Maulana Arshad Madani, President of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, in Deoband has taken out ads in Urdu newspapers asking the Muslim community to vote tactically to defeat the BJP. His warring nephew and Jamiat's other power centre, Mahmood Madani, has been a Rajya Sabha member from the RLD and had praised Modi in the past but claims to be neutral in the current elections.
Children at Ruhesa village in Muzaffarnagar sporting AAP-style NaMo caps.
BJP candidate Sanjeev Baliyan and BJP MLA Sangeet Som campaigning in Muzaffarnagar. Both have been accused of inciting mobs in the run up to the Muzaffarnagar riots.
A campaign sticker of BJP's Muzaffarnagar candidate Sanjeev Baliyan being pasted on a wall by RSS cadres.
The RSS and its affiliate organisations like VHP have been doing door-to-door campaigning for the BJP since a month around the country.
An RSS member in Muzaffarnagar stands outside a house to distribute pamphlets in support of the BJP. The RSS is openly backing the BJP in these elections.
Kadir Rana who went underground during the riots, was arrested only much later and released on bail soon after. Even during his election campaign, he refused to take any questions from the media.
A child listens to Kadir Rana at Khatauli. Inspite of the riot taint, Rana is hoping that Dalits and Muslims who make up nearly 50 per cent of the electorate in Muzaffarnagar will propel him to victory.
BSP MP from Muzaffarnagar, Kadir Rana, accused of making inflammatory speech in the run up to riots, arrives for a public meeting in Khatauli, 20 kms outside Muzaffarnagar.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar is not contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time since he joined politics. In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Pawar admitted to having a good equation with Narendra Modi but denied any possibility of political realignment.
A supporter greets DMK chief M Karunanidhi, popularly known as Kalaignar (Artist), at a wedding reception in Chennai. The party in alliance with the Congress had swept the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu in 2009 but is slated to lose ground according to an NDTV poll.
M Natarajan, husband of Jayalalithaa aide, Sasikala, at his house in Thanjavur. Behind him is a painting of Sasikala and him before they were estranged.
A family at a village in Cuddalore district with the 'Amma' fan, one of the multiple freebies doled out by the state. Other free items distributed include mixies, grinders, laptops, gold and even cows and goats. Tamil Nadu's current debt is a whopping Rs 1.73 lakh crore thanks to the freebies.
The AIADMK candidate from Chidambaram, Mr. Chandrakasi, stands with folded hands in one corner of the stage while Jayalalithaa addresses the rally. All candidates have to stand silently in a corner when Amma addresses rallies.
As Jayalalithaa's helicopter lands near the rally venue, the crowds call out 'welcome Puratchi Thalaivi' (Revolutionary Leader). The former Tamil cine star is a big draw for the crowds and the turnout at the rally was impressive.
A young supporter of AIADMK at Jayalalitha's rally at Chidambaram, on the Eastern coast of Tamil Nadu. Massive gates with her images and giant cutouts all over the ground are a common feature in Tamil Nadu elections.
Nitish Kumar at a rally in North Bihar's East Champaran district made a strong pitch for his long standing demand for special category status for Bihar. In an interview to NDTV, he claims he is better qualified to be Prime Minister than most others but a recent opinion poll done by NDTV forecasts heavy losses for his party.
