Lucknow, April 28: Tilak, taraju aur talwar, inko maaro joote chaar (Beat up Brahmins, Banias and Thakurs with shoes) — Bahujan Samaj Party poster, 1993.

Chadh ke chamaar ki chhati pe, Brahman baitha haathi pe (Brahmins have captured the BSP, trampling over the Dalits) — Samajwadi Party slogan, 2007.

Much as the Samajwadi workers mock Brahmins for “licking Mayavati’s feet”, all political parties here concede that Behenji’s decision to yoke Dalits with Brahmins could quicken the elephant’s — the BSP’s election symbol — march to the Vidhan Sabha.

Today is the day that would decide whether the ploy has worked.

The fifth phase of polling ended with the Congress hoping for a good show in Sultanpur, Rae Bareli and Lucknow Central. Mulayam Singh Yadav is appealing to the Muslims not to be swayed. But it is Behenji on whom everyone’s attention is focused.

Would the party that made its mark with a cry for violence against the upper castes (tilak signifying Brahmins, taraju Banias and talwar Thakurs) now seize power with the help of these very castes?

Of the 57 Assembly seats that went to polls today, Mayavati fielded Brahmins in 16 and Thakurs in eight — a total of 24 seats for the upper castes. The number of Dalits contesting on BSP tickets is 14.

Mayavati is hoping the upper castes would help her better the 2002 tally of 19.

“This is a crucial test for Mayavati. All of us are closely watching. Her performance in this round would seal the fate of her social engineering project,” said Himanshu Dwivedi, a BJP supporter.

BJP president Rajnath Singh is confident a majority of the Brahmins are still with his party. “Brahmins would never support the BSP from their heart. And don’t forget the Thakurs, they are still with us,” he told The Telegraph.

His claims do not sound too convincing.

In the biggest constituency that went to polls in this round — Mahona, in Lucknow district, with 5.94 lakh voters — incumbent MLA Rajendra Yadav of the Samajwadi Party is facing a tough fight not just from the BJP but surprisingly also from the BSP’s Brahmin candidate, Nakul Dubey.

Mohana used to be a Samajwadi stronghold because of the Yadavs in rural areas. With the expansion of the city and new residential colonies, the BJP started doing well here — Rajnath was once an MLA. The BSP’s presence here is largely because of its Brahmin candidate.

In Lucknow East, sitting BJP MLA Vidya Sagar Gupta is facing a tough challenge from the BSP’s Brahmin candidate, Gopal Narain Mishra.