Voting is underway this month in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, and politically crucial for Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s BJP party. The state’s population is religiously mixed, Hindus and Muslims. Analysts say a victory there would be a resounding validation of the party’s Hindu nationalist crusade. Sushmita Pathak reports from the city of Meerut on the national and local issues that are driving voters to the polls.
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