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BJP awaits Friday as Congress reviews 
political situation

Counting of votes for the 543 Lok Sabha seats will be taken up on May 16 and most results are expected by that evening.

A day after exit polls predicted a win for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and its worst ever electoral performance for the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), leaders of both major parties went into separate huddles on Tuesday to discuss the emerging political scenarios.

Counting of votes for the 543 Lok Sabha seats will be taken up on May 16 and most results are expected by that evening. The last of nine phases of polling, which began on April 7, was held on Monday.

While Congress leaders refuse to accept the exit poll results, pointing out how they had won in both 2004 and 2009 despite predictions of defeats, BJP leaders said they would, in fact, do even better than what the polls have forecast.

The “core group” of the Congress, headed by its president Sonia Gandhi, met at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s residence last night to take stock of their electioneering and the likely scenarios that might be thrown up on May 16.

Congress leaders had another round of discussions this morning, sources in the party said.

Meanwhile, top BJP leaders, confident that the NDA will form the next government, have been consulting each other on various aspects, including the composition of the new Cabinet if the exit poll results turn out to be correct.

The BJP had named Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate way back in September last year and he would have a large say in who gets to be in his team.

Party leaders and those close to the leadership said that neither the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nor its prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi were discussing government formation for now.

“Right now there is no talk on government formation. Our priority is on the 16th (Friday). We are focusing on the counting (of votes),” BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.“Once the results come in, the party will decide what should be the next course of action towards government formation,” he added.

Linked to Modi’s possible shift to New Delhi is the question of his successor in Gujarat and several names are doing the rounds in this regard. The clear front-runner is Anandiben Patel, Revenue Minister in his Cabinet and a close aide. The names of state Finance Minister Nitin Patel and Energy Minister Saurabh Dalal and BJP organisational secretary Bhiku Dalsania have also figured in this regard.

Alongside all this, the Congress, staring at grim prospects, has also begun an exercise to ensure that blame does not fall on party vice-president Rahul Gandhi if its worst fears about the results come true.

“Rahul Gandhi is not in the government. He is Congress vice-president, number two after Sonia Gandhi. The result will be a collective responsibility of all the leaders,” Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed. Ahmed also said the results would be much better for the Congress and “everyone will share credit”.

The Congress had gone into the elections under the leadership of Gandhi, 43, though the party did not name him as its prime ministerial candidate, saying that this was the prerogative of the elected members of Parliament of the party.

With inputs from IANS

news@khaleejtimes.com

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