Till a month ago, the poll prospects for Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh were bright and the party was leading the poll stakes compared to others. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had thrown a serious challenge to his political rivals on the issue of development. He was ousting local mafia dons from important positions one by one, and this was having a desired effect among the electorate, but family feud in the Yadav clan spoiled Akhilesh’s efforts. The maximum gainer appears to be the BJP, though the party does not have a leader who can give Akhilesh a tough fight. On Monday, BJP announced that it would go into elections without a CM candidate. The party has now decided to fight the elections by projecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its electoral face.