The countdown to the elections has begun. CNBC-TV18, in its special series ‘Election Caravan’, travels to Muzaffarnagar in Western Uttar Pradesh, which goes to polls on April 11. The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has fielded sitting lawmaker Sanjeev Balyan from the constituency while Ajit Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) is the Mahagathbandhan's candidate.

Parikshit Luthra speaks to traders at Muzaffarnagar’s Gur Mandi, Asia's largest jaggery market, to get a sense of the issues affecting them - whether demonetisation and the GST regime ushered in a positive change – and, if they see the Mahagathbandhan posing a strong challenge to the BJP.