Before delimitation, Bhadokhar was part of Sohawal (SC) constituency, which has ceased to exist. A unique feature of Bhadokhar is that it has only Muslim and OBC populations, and the OBCs are mostly Yadavs. Further, Maya block, which had been a BJP stronghold in the past, has been excluded from Ayodhya. Lallu Singh had won in 2007 with a margin of about 6,500.

Villagers of Badkohar are not happy about their inclusion in Ayodhya. “We stand to lose because of the inclusion,” Mohammad Shahab says. “As voters of Sohawal, we managed to get benefits such as new roads and a new government school because of our population. We never vote for the BJP and its candidates have never approached us for any election.”

Many villagers fear neglect if the seat should again be won by the BJP. “Please go and see the condition of Faizabad’s localities which have a Muslim population. Lallu Singh has not spent any money from his MLA fund in areas such as Kasabbara, Rath Haveli and Sabji Mandi,” says youth Tausif Ahmed. And Haji Munnan says peace and security have always been concerns for the Muslim voter. “This is a new situation...,” he says.

As for their vote, Nasir Ahmed alias Guddu, the village pradhan, says, “Although our sympathies are with the Peace Party, we will support the SP candidate.”

Aware what those 3,000 votes could cost him, Lallu Singh has tried to to stay in constant touch with rural voters elsewhere — something he rarely did earlier, having depended mostly on the urban vote.

On Wednesday afternoon, a visibly tired Lallu, along with a few supporters, was taking a break from campaigning and snacking on biscuits at Fatehpur Mumtajabad village. He had toured several villages, including Sarai Rashi, Rajepur, Dwarikapur and Ayami.

“Half a day in the city, the second day in rural areas,” Lallu Singh tells this reporter how he goes about it. He has got new sports shoes because he needs to walk a lot. “Somebody has gifted me these,” he says. “They are good for election time.”

He puts up a bold face to the changes on the map, “My one good quality is that I am available to my voters all the time. I never miss any function in my constituency,” he says.

“Even Muslims don’t oppose me personally,” he adds. About the Ram temple, he says. “Have you ever heard the BJP saying it would build a grand temple in Ayodhya? It says it would support the move to build a temple.”

One of Lallu Singh’s problems is that the BSP has fielded a local businessman, Ved Gupta, who has the potential to make a dent in the BJP’s support base among traders. The Congress candidate is Rajendra Singh, close to the party’s Faizabad MP Nirmal Khatri. Both Rajendra and Lallu are Thakurs. The SP has fielded the young Pawan Pandey, who has been visiting villages. And there is Gulshan Bindu, a eunuch.

Lallu’s supporters hope there would be a division of Muslim votes due to the presence of Peace Party candidate Rajan Mishra. “In the last Lok Sabha election, the Peace Party had performed well in Ayodhya,” one supporter said.

Another felt support might grow after tours by the BJP’s prominent leaders. Uma Bharti will campaign in the constituency on Friday.