Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2022 phase 2: Over 61% polling in UP 2nd phase

Once seen as the 'deciding factor' for their propensity for 'strategic voting', Muslims were a formidable electorate in UP until the 2014 general elections, when BJP's strategy of consolidating Hindu votes across the state's deep caste divide pushed the minority vote to the margins. Eight years and three major elections later, the Muslim 'vote bank' is quiet in 2022.