Sonia-Mayawati battle from Feb. 1

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Former cricketer and MP Navjot Singh Sidhu with his wife

The two women, for whom the UP elections are extremely crucial, will start campaigning in the state from February 1.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi begins her UP campaign from February 1 from Deoria and Gonda while UP chief minister Mayawati will also hit the trail from February 1 from Sitapur and Barabanki.
For Mrs Gandhi, the Uttar Pradesh elections are significant because her son Rahul Gandhi has been campaigning relentlessly in the state and if the Congress improves its performance in the polls, the credit for the party’s revival will go to Mr Gandhi and will put him in an advantageous position in the national political field.
Incidentally, Mr Gandhi’s detractors are also waiting to pounce on him if the Congress does not perform as per expectations and Union minister Sharad Pawar’s statement on Sunday is an indication of this.
Mrs Gandhi, due to health issues, will not be campaigning as aggressively as she did in 2007 and will be addressing just one meeting in each of the seven polling phases. Her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, meanwhile, will take care of Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies from February 2.
Ms Mayawati, on the other hand, faces an uphill task in the state and these elections could make or break her political future. Ms Mayawati knows this too well.
The chief minister, who begins her poll tour on February 1 with meetings in Sitapur and Barabanki, will be fighting against the anti-incumbency factor that seems to be piling up against her party and also tackles the charges of corruption that the Opposition is levelling against her government.
Ms Mayawati’s biggest handicap is that she is the sole star campaigners in the BSP and, therefore, faces a paucity of time when it comes to covering all the 403 constituencies in UP. She will be addressing one meeting in each district and will be covering two to three districts every day.
BSP general secretary Satish Misra has already started campaigning from January 15 but his meetings are restricted mainly to upper caste-dominated constituencies.