Gorakhpur, July 21: The Uttar Pradesh government has beefed up security in and around Gorakhpur, closing schools, colleges and a border road ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally tomorrow as the threat of a Dalit backlash hung heavy following a politician's foul-mouthed claims.

The security blanket - including an anti-mine squad - came as Mayawati's supporters and Dalit outfits staged protests across the state, demanding that police arrest Dayashankar Singh for his derogatory comments against the Bahujan Samaj Party boss.

Dayashankar, who was vice-president of the BJP's Uttar Pradesh unit, has since been expelled from the party for six years.

That, however, failed to pacify the protesters who defied prohibitory orders today to stage sit-ins in Lucknow, around 300km from Gorakhpur, while an association of students and teachers in Varanasi took out a march in BHU.

A police officer said a team had raided Dayashankar's house in Lucknow but he had "escaped".

The expelled leader had yesterday claimed that Mayawati was selling BSP tickets for next year's state elections to the highest bidder. The objectionable word that he used against the BSP chief came as he sought to mobilise crowds for Modi's rally in Gorakhpur tomorrow.

The Prime Minister is due to arrive at 10.45 in the morning and offer prayers at Gorakshnath temple before addressing the rally on the grounds of a closed fertiliser factory.

He is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences and also one for a new fertiliser factory near the closed unit.

Local authorities had yesterday said roads around the temple and the closed factory would be blocked an hour before Modi's arrival. Today, the entire area between the temple and the factory was closed off at 1pm, while schools and colleges near the temple and the factory were shut down for two days.

This afternoon, the administration also closed a road to Gorakhpur from Sonauli, around 120km from here along the Nepal border, clamping the restriction well ahead of tomorrow's scheduled closure.

Eight anti-sabotage and five bomb-disposal squads were deployed today, apart from an anti-mine squad and five companies of the Sashastra Seema Bal, as the authorities heightened security presence in the city.

Ram Lal Verma, senior superintendent of police, Gorakhpur, had earlier said there would be 16 SP-rank officers, 23 additional SPs and 4,000 policemen besides 10 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary and the Rapid Action Force to maintain traffic and law and order.

The security beef-up came as senior BSP leaders, including Nasimuddin Siddiqui and Ram Achal Rajbhar, defied prohibitory orders in the Hazratganj area of Lucknow and sat on dharna, demanding the expelled leader's immediate arrest.

They dispersed after receiving an assurance from Lucknow senior superintendent of police Manzil Saini that Dayashankar would be arrested within 36 hours.

Vijay Mall Yadav, a police inspector, said Dayashankar was absconding. "We conducted a raid at his house in Lucknow today. But he had escaped from there," Yadav said.

The Scheduled Caste-Scheduled Tribe Students and Teachers' Welfare Society in Varanasi took out a huge procession at BHU and resolved to oppose national BJP leaders if Dayashankar was not arrested.

BSP national secretary Mewalal Gautam has filed a case against Dayashankar at Hazratganj police station under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.