Buoyed by exit polls, BJP prepares for an early Holi

The BJP was in a celebratory mood on Friday as its leaders expected an early Holi for the party when the Assembly poll results for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur are declared on Saturday.

BJP sources said the top leadership was confident of forming the government in UP, Uttarakhand and Goa and the party's Ashoka Road headquarters was ready with sweets, colours and firecrackers to celebrate the poll outcome.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad summed up the mood in the party and central government when he said at a function in Patna, "We will play Holi tomorrow which will be kesariya Holi", alluding to the saffron surge he expected from the polls.

In Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh BJP headquarters was also being decked up for celebrations. ''It will be an early Holi for us,'' said BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak.

State BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya said the party will fare ''better'' than what was being predicted in the exit polls. Maurya even invited journalists to the party office to taste the 'gujhia', the sweet traditionally prepared for Holi.

A meeting of the state party leaders will be held at the party office on Saturday evening to discuss the results, sources said.

In contrast, Samajwadi Party, Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party offices in the state capital wore a deserted look with hardly any senior functionary in sight.

Their leaders, however, said they were optimistic about their performance in the polls.

''The exit polls will again be proved wrong... we have seen that happen in Bihar Assembly polls. We are heading for a comfortable majority,'' said SP leader Rajendra Chaudhary.

Of the eight exit polls aired on Thursday, six said the BJP will be the single largest party but it will fall short of numbers to clear the 202 majority mark in Uttar Pradesh.