NEW DELHI, Feb 7: Key Indian state elections which begin next week and could test the stability of the central government, promise a heady political mix of caste, religion and nationalism, spiced with the participation of film stars, eunuchs and known criminals.

More than 121 million people will be able to vote in the four states going to the polls from February 13 — Manipur, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh.

All eyes will be on the last state, Uttar Pradesh — India’s Hindu heartland, the most populous state in the country and far and away the most important in political terms.

“One who rules UP (Uttar Pradesh), rules New Delhi,” runs the political maxim that looks like being sorely tested this time around.

Opinion polls suggest that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Hindu nationalist BJP party will not only lose control of the state but also its position as the largest single party in the local legislature.

With more than 166 million people, if Uttar Pradesh were independent it would be the sixth-largest country in the world, with a massive Muslim community and an electorate riven by the issue of caste.

The polls indicate a hung parliament, with the largest number of seats going to the Samajwadi (Socialist) Party, whose main vote banks are Muslims, as well as impoverished lower-caste farmers and labourers.

The BJP, which only enjoys around two per cent of the crucial Muslim vote in Uttar Pradesh, has clearly decided to cut its losses and use the current military face-off with Pakistan to appeal to voters’ patriotism.

BJP campaign rallies have been liberally peppered with anti-Pakistan rhetoric and warnings that only the BJP is capable of countering the terrorist threat posed by Islamic extremists.

“The parliament attack has given the BJP an issue, a handle,” said political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan. “But whether the voters will respond is another question.”

Critics have accused Vajpayee and his party of war-mongering and fanning nationalist sentiment with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh election.

But with polls showing unemployment, electricity shortages, bad roads and corruption topping the list of voter concerns, many observers say the BJP’s jingoistic rhetoric is unlikely to translate into success at the ballot box.

Failure to retain control of the state would put Vajpayee’s fractious federal coalition government under intense strain as its constituent members seek to shift with the prevailing political wind.

If nothing else, the Uttar Pradesh election promises a colourful contest, with a eclectic choice of candidates and personalities on the campaign trail.

The Samajwadi Party has had its prospects boosted by the support of India’s most famous film star, Amitabh Bachchan, who has repeatedly shared the dais at rallies with party leader Mualayam Singh Yadav.

The screen legend’s tour of the state has drawn mammoth crowds and forced rather desperate responses from the BJP and other rivals.

“Bachchan’s entry shows Yadav knows he is losing,” said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh. “If Yadav was confident, he would not need crutches.”

Another irritant for the BJP is the participation of eunuchs in the election.

Around 30 eunuchs have registered to stand, usually against high-profile candidates they accuse of corruption, including state Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon.

“We are fielding our candidates against the ministers who have used corrupt means to earn money,” said Asha Devi, the eunuch mayor of Gorakhpur town in Uttar Pradesh.

Eunuchs, or “hijras” as they are traditionally known, earn money through prostitution, begging, and singing and dancing for money at weddings, christenings and housewarmings. They are both feared and derided in India.

Meanwhile, with less than a week to go before polling begins, the national Election Commission is still striving to identify and exclude a huge number of candidates known to have criminal records.

“According to preliminary reports, some 17 per cent of the 5,553 candidates in the fray (in Uttar Pradesh) have a criminal background and the commission is collecting more information about them,” said the state’s chief electoral officer Noor Mohammed.—AFP