Opposition Still Feels NDA Will Fall Short, Says Alternative Needs To Be Ready

New Delhi: Even as the exit polls predicted a majority for the ruling NDA in the Lok Sabha elections, the Opposition camp is convinced that the BJP-led coalition will fall short of numbers, due to which they are making an effort to cobble up an alternative. Ahead of the declaration of actual results on May 23, TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been reaching out to various non-BJP parties as part of efforts to stitch up a coalition that could form a government at the Centre if the NDA fails to cross the majority mark of 272 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

Despite the exit polls giving a clear majority to the NDA, Naidu on Monday met Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata. Earlier, he had meet UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury, SP President Akhilesh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati and CPI’s Sudhakar Reddy and D. Raja over the last few days.

A leader of the Opposition camp said the meetings that Naidu is holding with various Opposition leaders were “informal consultations” to assess the situation. On Sunday night, Naidu rubbished the exit polls, saying such predictions have “time and again” failed to catch the pulse of the people. “While undoubtedly TDP govt will be formed in AP, we are confident that non-BJP parties will form a non-BJP govt at the center (sic),” Naidu had tweeted. Banerjee also slammed the exit polls, calling them “gossip”.

“I don’t trust Exit Poll gossip. The game plan is to manipulate or replace thousands of EVMs through this gossip. I appeal to all Opposition parties to be united, strong and bold. We will fight this battle together,” she had tweeted. “There is a situation for all of us to get together and get our act together without loss of time to be in a position to provide an alternative to the NDA,” he asserted. On the question of who would be the Prime Minister of such an alliance of regional parties, he said it will be decided through consensus after the election results are declared. Naidu was the convener of the United Front which had formed the government at the Centre in 1996 after the Congress failed to get a majority. The Congress had extended its support from outside. Asked whether the 1996 experiment would be repeated, he said that was a different situation as it was the Congress which had been defeated then. (IANS)

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