Polls opened Thursday in India´s most populous state in a test of the appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi´s Hindu nationalist agenda in the face of trenchant unemployment, rising inflation and the coronavirus pandemic.

Uttar Pradesh has struggled through India´s economic downturn, and Modi´s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is keen to prove it still holds sway in the bellwether state, home to more than 200 million people. A win in the northern Hindi-speaking heartland will give the BJP a boost ahead of national elections in 2024 when it will seek a third straight victory under Modi.

Opinion polls have indicated that the BJP will retain power in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly -- something no party has done since 1985 -- with an increased vote share.

The BJP’s main rival is the Samajwadi (Socialist) Party, led by Akhilesh Yadav who is seeking to tap into discontent over job losses and rising prices since the first wave of the pandemic hit the country in 2020. Keen to make up lost ground, the BJP has promised a job for at least one member of each family and free electricity for farmers -- a key voting bloc -- if it retains power.