NDA leaders set to meet today

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 20

Even while majority of exit polls are giving a clear edge to the BJP-led NDA, it seems the saffron party is also working on alternatives in case gaps need to be filled on May 23 —the day the results are declared for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 

A day before NDA leaders meet over dinner to touch base after a marathon seven-phase election, sources say the leadership is also in touch with prospective allies — Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik (BJD), Jaganmohan Reddy (YSR Congress Party) and Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao — in case help is required. 

As the Opposition questioned the veracity of the exit polls, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley advised it to stop squabbling over accuracy of exit polls as the message from “New India” was clear: “Political parties are unwilling to get the message of 2014 and the possibly of 2019; alienation from electorate will only widen.”

PM Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Lok Janshakti Party head Ram Vilas Paswan are expected to be present at the event on the day that will also see a meeting of key BJP leaders, including Union ministers,  at the party headquarters. “We will form a strong NDA government... but the BJP is winning 300 seats independently,” Shah had told The Tribune last week.