Watch | UP Elections 2022: What the Results Could Mean for National Politics

The results of the elections in India’s most populous state have implications which extend beyond Uttar Pradesh, affecting the ideological and political direction of the country as a whole.

The results of the seven phase assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be announced on Thursday, March 10. The results will have far-reaching implications, not just in the state but on the politics of the nation as a whole.

Should the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lose this election, can we say that the influence of the party’s ‘Hindutva’ agenda has run its course? Moreover, would this mark the return of ‘Mandal’ politics in India?

Senior editor at The Wire, Arfa Khanum Sherwani, is joined by political affairs editor Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta and founding editor M.K. Venu to discuss these questions and the implications of the election results on the broader ideological direction of the country.