- The growing irrelevance of the Congress and BJP in the state
- The deteriorating law and order situation in UP, and Mayawati's record of putting top criminals like Raja Bhaiyya behind bars
- Wooing of upper castes by giving them party tickets, and toning down of the anti-upper caste rhetoric
- Brahmins and Banias deciding that the only way to fight Yadav criminalisation is to join hands with the Dalits