New Delhi: After three phases of polling, it appears the Congress and the BJP may well be doing better than expected in the key state of Uttar Pradesh with the potential losers being the SP and the BSP.

So has Rahul Gandhi's “go it alone” policy and BJP’s Hindutva slant clicked? Ground reports suggest so. Muslims, having turned their back on the Congress after the Babri demolition, are doing a rethink after Mulayam embraced Kalyan Singh.

The good news for BJP is that Brahmins are tiring of Mayawati's social engineering which has now begun targeting the Muslims.

It was Rahul's idea to walk it alone in the crucial state despite having taken the Samajwadi support during the trust vote. But a bitter SP thinks Rahul's romance with this idea will be shortlived.

There are smiles on BJP faces, having once boasted of big names from the state, the party was groping for a foothold. Now, after three phases of polling, the Hindutva strategy, which was not overplayed except in Pilibhit, may have clicked.

And as the Congress and the BJP prepare for the last two phases, it will be Gandhi versus Gandhi as Rahul and Varun take each other on. The national parties are relying on the same family tree to reap a harvest in Uttar Pradesh.