The BJP is sensing a close fight in Bareilly this election after a dream run in the Uttar Pradesh heartland.

The party had lined up star campaigners in the city. Prime Minister Modi held a road show in Bareilly on April 26 flanked by chief minister Adityanath and BJP seniors Chhatrapal Gangwar and Santosh Gangwar. Home minister Amit Shah, too, held meetings here.

Around 4pm on May 5, a cavalcade of Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami arrived at the Stadium Road.

Public movement on the road was stalled. A police vehicle made several rounds asking residents to stay back. Autorickshaw driver Ram Das Kashyap quietly drove his vehicle to the extreme end of the road and sat in the driver's seat fearing the police.

"The police often harass us. They take pictures of autorickshaws for parking on the roadside and send us challans. We park our autorickshaw anywhere. There is no designated parking lot in the city," Kashyap said.

This is just one among the many problems of Smart City Bareilly.

Bareilly was among the 100 cities hand-picked by the Modi government in 2015 for the then-launched Smart City scheme, which envisaged creating modern facilities and new amenities. Among other things, autorickshaw drivers expected designated parking lots for them.

"The roads have been widened but there's no parking facility for us," Kashyap said.

Mohd Salim and Nadeem Khan repair motorcycles near Eit Pajo Chauraha on Stadium Road. Pointing to the roadside houses, Khan said the smart-city tag brought no change in the lives of the people of Bareilly.

"Look for any basic facility here, you will not find it. There is no proper drainage system. If it rains for 10 minutes, the drain water spills onto the road," Khan said.

He added that the area has no sewer lines. The residents have created underground pits in their houses, which have to be cleaned once every two years. There is no water connection from the city civic body to these residents. Groundwater with iron is the only source of water.

Salim said the area has remained neglected for years. There is one government school for nearly 5,000 families. However, some private schools have come up in recent years. The motorcycle mechanic added that he cannot afford to send his son to a private school.

"Those who have money, send their children to private schools. Those who bring their vehicles for repair do not turn up to take them back for 15 days. These days, income has dried up. Prices of everything are so high," Salim said.

Meherpal Singh Rathore sells lemon juice on the roadside in Bareilly. He buys a soda bottle for ₹20. "Because of the GST, a soda bottle costs ₹20 when it should cost ₹15. This affects income," he said.

In Adlakhia village, nearly 10km from Bareilly city, 40-year-old Sompal, a farmer, said he cannot make ends meet from the income he generates from agriculture. "With our family labour and continuous efforts, I earned ₹10,000 from three acres of land. I get ₹6,000 a year from the PM Kisan scheme. It is difficult to run a family," said Sompal, who grows paddy and wheat.

Devoid of industries, agriculture remains the primary source of income in rural areas, though some people work as labourers in the city.

Senior BJP leader Santosh Gangwar has represented the seat eight times. The BJP dropped him this year and fielded Chhatrapal Gangwar. The Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded Praveen Singh Aron.

Nearly 19.5 lakh voters are registered under the Bareilly Lok Sabha seat. They include six lakh Muslims and five lakh Kurmis. The Kurmis have largely supported the BJP.

After the replacement of Santosh, a section of Kurmis are unhappy, said Aditya Pratap Singh, an LIC agent.

"I get a sense that a section of Kurmis may vote for Aron this time. Some Muslims voted in favour of Santosh. This time, all Muslim votes would go to the SP candidate. It would be a tough fight this time," Singh said.