NEW DELHI: Over the past few days, East Delhi has been getting a crash course in the UP "success story''. From housing for the poor to scholarships for girl students, the "successes'' of the Mayawati government have been the talking point at least as far as the BSP is concerned. So while the Congress may be showcasing Commonwealth Games and BJP's Chetan Chauhan waxing eloquent about his cricketing background, Mohammed Yunus has promised East Delhi residents a slice of UP, courtesy Mayawati.

Yunus, who candidly admits that he's banking on the four lakh votes from the Muslim community, along with the backing of the Dalits, says it's inevitable that Mayawati's magic works here as well. "In the over 60 years of Independence, what have any of these parties done for the Muslims? Yet the BSP has given us three tickets to fight the Lok Sabha elections. Muslims are bound to vote for the BSP.''

And while local issues may figure in his speech Yunus says price rise is the most important what scores higher is brand Mayawati. "In UP, there is no discrimination between different communities. BSP gives as much importance to Muslims as Dalits and other Hindus,'' says Yunus.

The BSP's roadshows as well as public meetings have all got a healthy dose of Mayawati's governance which party workers say has been a "great hit'' with the public. Says a member of the Yunus entourage, "We tell them about all the promises made by the Congress that have remained on paper housing for the poor, provisional certificates which aren't legal and many more. In constrast, Behenji has fulfilled all her promises made in UP.''

The Behenji refrain in fact runs through every speech with Yunus launching into a scathing attack on police "atrocities'' "The police has only killed innocent Muslims in the name of terror,'' proclaims the BSP candidate and on the BJP for what he says is the party's anti-poor and anti-Muslim stance.

Yunus says brand Mayawati is deliberate. "The BSP will play an important part in forming the government at the Centre, thanks to Behenji,'' says the first-time LS candidate confidently. It's a strategy that obviously works, since many present at the public meetings that this reporter spoke to had no clue who Yunus is. Mayawati though is instantly recognisable. Says Rupak, a 21-year old helper at a shop in Khureji, "Behenji ka chinh haathi hai.''

Yunus also has his numbers worked out. He cites the `strong' Muslim and Dalit presence in Okhla, Trilokpuri, Kondli, Laxmi Nagar, Adarsh Nagar and Ramesh Nagar as BSP's biggest votebank, saying he's also trying to woo the Hindus who are unhappy with the Congress and the BJP.