Lok Sabha election: Stage set for close contest in western Uttar Pradesh
All three main parties face challenges in this region owing to the sizable presence of Muslims, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and other backward classes (OBCs) across the eight Lok Sabha seats – Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina (SC), Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit – which will go to the polls in the first phase on April 19.