Bahujan Samaj Party chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati will be in Bangalore to address a mammoth convention on Sunday at the Palace Grounds at 11 am.

The convention by the BSP is aimed at strengthening the party in Karnataka. State BSP leaders told rediff.com that the convention will be attended by thousands of supporters.

Senior politicians such as P G R Scindia and his supporters are also expected to join the party at the Sunday convention.

Bangalore seems to be under a Maya spell with BSP buntings and hoardings put up all over the city. Mayawati will arrive at Bangalore amidst tight security and head straight to the Palace Grounds.

The Bangalore police too are on their toes making elaborate security arrangements. Mayawati's security has been beefed up following a terror threat she received in UP a week back.

State general secretary, Jigani Shankar told rediff.com that Karnataka will be the BSP's gateway to south India. They are expecting several more senior leaders including, M P Prakash to join the party.

The BSP claims it will surprise everyone in the forthcoming elections. The leaders also claim that it will upset the Janata Dal-Secular and will don the role of kingmaker in the state.

The party expects to eat into the vote bank of the Congress. The BSP will target the votes of the backward class, Dalits and the minorities, which have remained a Congress stronghold all these years.

As of now, the state leaders have ruled out any tie up with the Congress. Shankar says that they have been fighting the Congress to take control over their vote bank and hence it will be inappropriate to tie up with the Congress as of now.

The most likely tie-up will be with the BJP. In this way the votes of the upper and lower caste are both taken care of, the BSP feels.