Lucknow, Jan. 14: She couldn’t have asked for a bigger birthday cake.

It stretches over a thousand kilometres, costs about Rs 40,000 crore, and doesn’t run the risk of going stale.

Come tomorrow, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayavati will celebrate her birthday by flagging off modern India’s biggest road project — an eight-lane expressway she thinks would put her name alongside Sher Shah, the man who built the 2,500km-long Grand Trunk Road more than 450 years ago.

“Her birthday will pave the way for a new age of development in the state as she flags off the project tomorrow,” said cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh.

But while the city of nawabs has turned “blue”, the official colour of Mayavati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, and cut-outs of elephants — the BSP symbol — adorn street corners in honour of the chief minister who turns 52, some people are waiting for tomorrow with taut nerves.

Several companies have bid for the 1,047km Ganga Expressway, which would connect Ballia in the east with Noida in the west, and are keeping their fingers crossed.

In state capital Lucknow, BSP workers are set to celebrate with a 52kg cake. Also lined up is a community feast.