UP polls: Will Rahul and Priyanka's charm translate into votes?

In fact, this is the first time the residents have expressed their dissatisfaction at Priyanka's visit to the constituency. They did not hesitate in suggesting that she only made a timely appearance for the polls.

Priyanka also admitted that her visit was in view of the elections, but said brother Rahul had always attended to their problems.

With so much indifference in views among voters, the Congress does face a tough task this time despite the extended roadshows and poll meetings by the brother-sister duo.

Recalling the Congress-BSP tug-of-war, the voters remember how the tussle between the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress in the past led to Chief Minister Mayawati changing the name of the district of Amethi to Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj.

Maya's actions were the direct result of Rahul Gandhi's frequent visits to houses of Dalits and his appeasement of this
section. He made inroads into winning them over by staying overnight in their houses, having food and interacting with them.

All that triggered Mayawati to shift the senior administrative officers for failing to stop Rahul from entering the region.

The Congress believe they have an upper hand as a result of Mayawati's antics.

"The voters now want a change and are therefore looking up to the Congress, since they are tired of Chief Minister Mayawati's corrupt practices and ways. The Gandhi family still wields much influence and is bound to do well in its home borough, Amethi," said senior Congress party leader and spokesman Ram Kumar Bhargava.

And Amethi certainly seemed to take fondly to its 'Yuvraj' as the people flocked to welcome Rahul during his roadshows.

But while Rahul's popularity is still high, most of them seemed to be more attracted to the simple and charming Priyanka.

The brother-sister duo have been on an intensive campaign course this poll season. But it is believed that the siblings' influence may not fetch the desired votes because the sitting MLA Amita Singh's performance is now being critically judged.

Amita had won the 2002 and 2007 assembly elections. However this time the people are not too happy with her as they feel she hasn't done much for her constituency.

She faces a stiff contest from BSPs Ashish Shukla, Samajwadi Party's Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and BJP's Rashmi Singh.

Jagdishpur assembly constituency is a Congress stronghold where eight-times sitting MLA Ram Sewak Dhobi has established a record of sorts.

However this time his grandson Radhey Shyam is in the fray. His main rivals are SP's Vijay Pasi and BSP's Sriram Krantikari.

The neighbouring Gauriganj seat belongs to the BSP, where its sitting MLA Chandra Prakash Matiyari is again in the contest. His main rivals are SP's Rakesh Pratap Singh and Congress candidate Mohd Naem.

The young voters of this region have taken a vow to exercise their franchise. A wave of enthusiasm runs through the first timers who are well prepared to caste their votes.

While caste and religion considerations still hold a big say among the traditional voters, the younger generation is allotting top priority to development and a corruption free society.

However, the main criteria remains the performance of the sitting MLA's and as to whether or not they have been able to prove their substance as the right representatives of the people.

While the effect of the siblings could have some bearing on the polls, experts feel that their influence and extended campaigns alone won't swing this in Congress' favour.

Dr Ramesh Dixit, a professor at the Department of Political Sciences, who has witnessed several elections in UP, felt that "only projecting the Gandhi siblings as its campaigners is hardly sufficient to bail out Congress, which has its hands deep in scams and ministers behind bars".