[3] Initially the ECI announced on 24 December 2011 that the election will occur in seven phases on 4, 8, 11, 15, 19, 23 and 28 February and the results will be declared on 3 March.

[16] The parties represented in the previous legislature were: In 2010, INC general secretary Rahul Gandhi was arrested, along with, while he was staging a sit-in in Bhatta Parsaul village in support of farmers agitating against inadequate compensation for the acquisition of their land for a highway project.

Though he was released after three hours, INC party members in other parts of the country such as Mumbai's western suburbs of Santacruz, Malad and Borivali protested against his arrest.

The Times of India read the move as "a bigger favour from jittery chief minister Mayawati" and that the "subsequent free-for-all" included INC staging anti-Mayawati protests as well as BJP leaders trying not to be undone by "also courting trouble" on the basis of "land-related strife everywhere...giving politicians scope for photo ops."

It also said that Mayawati may have had a "point in lobbing the land acquisition ball back into the Centre's (national government) court" but that attempts to "keeping law and order will only make her opponents look good for being martyred;" while it still question if the INC were "genuinely friends of farmers, tribals, Dalits, et al."[31] A Centre for Media Studies report showed that the corruption has increased in UP.

[38][39] After the EC imposed restrictions on the movement of unaccounted money, police checks across UP netted over 120 million in cash, several kilogrammes of silver and weapons, leading to the arrest of at least one person.

On 9 January, social activist Dheeraj Singh filed a PIL in the Allahabad High Court challenging the EC's order on the grounds that the elephants represent Ganesha and veiling them could hurt public sentiment.

[76] On 16 January, national BJP President Nitin Gadkari released the party manifesto for the election in Lucknow.

Part of its promises included creating 15 million jobs within five years, as well providing rice and wheat at a subsidised Rs.

The list included 88 candidates belonging to SCs, 113 from OBCs, 85 religious minorities and 117 upper castes, out of which 74 are Brahmins.

[82][83] On 20 January, the Samajwadi Party released its electoral manifesto in Lucknow which included promising reservation for the minorities, a ban on land acquisition and loans of four percent interest to small farmers.

[84][85] Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav got an endorsement from the Shahi Imam of New Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari, who had appealed to Muslim voters to vote for the SP and alleged that the INC had regressed UP's fortunes.

[86][87] The anti-corruption group Team Anna also decided to campaign in four of the five provinces that are holding Vidhan Sabha elections, except Manipur; however they said that they would not do so in favour of or against any particular party.

At the same time, INC general secretary Rahul Gandhi toured two villages to start an agitation march against such acquisitions[90][91] On 22 December 2011 the national government announced a four and half percent sub-quota for "backward Muslims" as part of an expanded definition of Other Backward Castes in the civil service and at educational institutions, which came into effect on 1 January.

BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley strongly objected to the proposal on the grounds that it was "unconstitutional" with the purpose of campaigning to wooing Muslim voters in the election.

"[94][95] The following day the ECI decided to put on hold the sub-quota for minorities till the election ends as it was in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

[96] The ECI replaced the UP DGP Brij Lal and Home Secretary Fateh Bahadur on 8 January after complaints from other parties that they were partisan on the issue of covering the statues.

Almost all the exit polls pointed to a hung assembly with the SP outperforming its rivals while the BSP lost a large share of the seats it previously held.

The BSP's CM Mayawati's cabinet approving the dissolution of the Vidhan Sabha assembly on the night of 4 March and sent the recommendation to the Governor for consent.