Gung-ho BJP says it won’t need allies

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS): A day after several exit polls predicted a BJP-led government in India, with only the margins of victory differing, party leaders said Tuesday they were confident of an easy win, perhaps crossing the 300 mark, and would not need allies.

Party leaders and those close to the leadership told IANS that neither the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nor its prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi were discussing government formation for now. But there was talk in the party about who would fill important ministerial posts or what would be the government’s policy priorities.

“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 told IANS. “Once the results come in, the party will decide what should be the next course of action towards government formation,” he added.

On Monday evening, soon after the staggered Lok Sabha election finally ended, exit polls universally predicted that the BJP-led NDA would end a decade of Congress rule. The polls - at least six of them - said the BJP and its allies would win 272 or more seats in the Lok Sabha so as to form a government.

“The exit polls largely reflect the reality on ground though we feel we will get more seats than what is being predicted,” said another BJP leader Prakash Javadekar. Other leaders, speaking on background, said internal assessments showed the NDA would get 290 to 305 seats, and they would not need allies. “We will not need any allies but anyone who wants to join us for national development is welcome,” a senior BJP leader said.

Speculation over ministerial berths is on and party members say they expect Arun Jaitley to get the finance ministry while Sushma Swaraj may get external affairs. While Rajnath Singh has said he will continue in his post, there is a feeling he should get a key ministry as well. Political analyst G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, now with the BJP, feels the party will win 253 seats on its own and the NDA 303 seats.

The BJP gave a 13-day government and later a six-year government from 1998 to 2004, both led by the now ailing Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Now, riding on what is widely seen as a “Modi wave”, the party appears set to return to power in the world’s largest democracy.
 
Survey: BJP to win 253
seats, NDA 303, Cong 66


New Delhi, May 13 (IANS): A post-election survey released Tuesday said the BJP was set to win a record 253 seats in the Lok Sabha and the Congress just 66, its lowest ever tally. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win in all 303 seats, according to the LensOnNews survey conducted after each polling day during the 10-phase ballot, covering a total of 40,000 voters. The findings carry a margin of error of three percent. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will be left with 89 seats in the Lok Sabha, it said.