Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav voted in Saifai
After he cast his vote in Saifai early this morning, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav asserted, "There is no Modi wave."
Today, 12 constituencies vote in UP, which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha and is India's most electorally vital state. The BJP's calculation that it will win this general election is heavily predicated on the premise that it will bag a rich haul in UP.
Narendra Modi, the party's prime ministerial candidate is contesting from Varanasi, which, the party hopes, will help the party in eastern UP.
Akhilesh Yadav challenged that assessment today.
"I have not seen any Modi wave. People here don't even understand what the Gujarat model is," the Chief Minister said. "The Samajwadi Party will win the maximum seats."
Mr Modi has campaigned on the promise of strong governance and held up what he calls the "Gujarat model of development" as an example of what he can offer the nation.
His close associate Amit Shah is in charge of the BJP's campaign in UP. The party is banking on his efforts at bringing the upper castes, non-Yadav OBCs and a section of Dalits together in the state.
Today's polling in 12 constituencies in western and central Uttar Pradesh, is likely to test the strength of two important regional players - Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, or the RLD, which is led by union minister Ajit Singh.
In 2009, contesting in alliance with the BJP, the RLD had won two of the 12 seats -Hathras and Mathura. Mr Singh's son, Jayant made his debut in the Lok Sabha by wresting Mathura from the Congress.
The SP, contesting alone, had bagged five seats in 2009.
The Congress, which had won three of the 12 seats in the last Lok Sabha polls, has forged an alliance with the RLD. But it could still emerge as the biggest loser.