New Delhi, March 31 -- That the BSP is not in alliance with the SP this time will have an impact.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is facing one of the toughest challenges of its political innings in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections in western Uttar Pradesh's three seats-Saharanpur, Bijnor and Nagina-where it has fielded new faces and preferred not to bet on in its sitting MPs.

In the past, the battle for Bijnor constituency has seen stalwarts like Mayawati, Ram Vilas Paswan and Meira Kumar test their fortunes, but over the years the Samajwadi Party has strengthened its presence in the region by bagging four of the five Assembly constituencies under this parliamentary constituency. In the coming elections, voters in the first pha...