There were countless incidents involving gun-toting leaders, known as “contractor mafia” in UP, thrashing government officials and policemen on duty and getting away with it. Numerous were also instances of policemen found involved in heinous crimes.

The utter failure of the law and order machinery, coupled with her own no-nonsense image and Mulayam playing the Yadav card, helped Mayawati broaden her support base even among the higher castes.

Even in defeat, Mulayam failed to accept the that he could have been wrong when he said: “I was under the impression that people liked the development work taken up by my government, but now I think people failed to understand the policies of my government.”

Minus for ministers

Of the 28-member Cabinet, only 11 ministers could make it back to the Assembly. Among 25 ministers of state, only six could retain their seats

Prominent losers

• Balram Yadav

• Ashok Bajpai

• Kiranpal Singh

• Hari Shanker Tiwari

• Jagdish Singh Rana

• Ujjwal Raman Singh

• Rajendra Singh Rana

• Virendra Singh Bundela

• Swami Omvesh

• Sanjay Garg

PROMINENT WINNERS

1. Mukhtar Ansari (IND) MAU

2. Amita Singh (CONG) AMETHI

3. Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP) BHARTHANA, GUNNAUR

4. Premlata Devi (BJP) Deoria Sadar

5. Mithilesh Katiyar (BSP) RAJPUR

6. Sibagtullah Ansari (SP) MOHHAMADABAD

7. D P Yadav (Rashtriya Parivartan Dal) SAHASWAN

8. Akhilesh Singh (IND) RAE BARELI SADAR

... contd.