NDA leaders to meet on Tuesday

Ahead of the counting of votes in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has called a meeting of NDA leaders in the national capital on Tuesday to fine-tune its post-poll strategy though it is confident of forming the government.

The NDA camp is buoyed by the exit poll results, which has given BJP-led NDA majority in six out of eight such polls. One of the surveys has predicted that the NDA tally might go up to 365.

BJP president Amit Shah has extended the invite to all the NDA partners. Senior Union Ministers are also likely to attend the meeting.

The BJP has made it clear that it would form a coalition government even if it gets the majority on its own. In 2014 too, it had formed a government with allies after crossing the majority mark.

In a press conference last Friday, Shah had exuded confidence that BJP on its own would win more than 300 seats.

However, his comments that BJP will keep its doors open for more allies gave the impression that the saffron party is foreseeing a situation where NDA may not get cross the 272-mark.

Opposition leaders are also holding discussions among themselves. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has held discussions with Opposition leaders, including UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, BSP's Mayawati, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and DMK's MK Stalin among others.

There was speculation that Mayawati would be flying down to Delhi and meet Sonia but senior BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra denied any such plans, saying she would stay in Lucknow.