Shah rally in Mulayam backyard

New Delhi: BJP national chief Amit Shah will address a public rally in Mulayam Singh Yadav's family backyard Etawah on Thursday, hoping to cash in on an anticipated "counter-consolidation" of votes as the family feud within the Samajwadi Party deepens. Sources in the BJP said they expected the graph of Uttar Pradesh's ruling party to dip, which would make voters look towards other options. "If Muslims move towards (Mayawati's) BSP, which we believe they would, it is sure to have a reaction. There will be a counter-consolidation," said a BJP leader involved with preparations for the Assembly elections in the heartland, due early next year. In other words, the BJP is hoping that Hindus would gravitate towards it. Shah's rally in Mulayam's home district Etawah, planned before the Samajwadi family war spilled out into the open, is meant to woo Brahmins. Named "Sankalp Sabha", it has been organised by former BSP MP Brajesh Pathak, a Brahmin. The idea is to make people take a " sankalp" (pledge) to bring the BJP to power. Apart from Brahmins, the BJP chief is likely to reach out to the Yadavs and urge them to dump the Samajwadi. Etawah city, around 20km from Mulayam's native village Saifai, and its adjoining areas are heavily populated by Yadavs. BJP sources said they expected the Yadavs to vote for the national party, because of the Samajwadi's "failing stock", and not the Congress, which they said was hardly in the fight. Party leaders said Shah was likely to attack the Samajwadi for being a "family party" concerned only with the welfare of the " parivar", while ignoring the interests of the common man. "The Samajwadi leaders are fighting to save the parivar while the BJP is fighting to save the people of Uttar Pradesh," a BJP leader said. The BJP, which has been keeping a close watch on the developments in the Samajwadi, appears happy with the feedback from the ground. Party insiders said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pitch against the triple talaq had, along with the army's "surgical strikes" across the Line of Control last month, created a buzz in the BJP's favour. "The ground report so far is exciting. People are tired of the SP-BSP cycle," a BJP leader said. "They are looking for an alternative and there is none but the BJP.