After disappointing exit polls predictions, Akhilesh goes into a huddle with Mayawati

BSP supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met here on Monday after exit polls indicated gains for their alliance in the politically important state of Uttar Pradesh.
Yadav, who had formed a coalition with the BSP and the RLD to take on the BJP, drove to the residence of Mayawati and the closed door talks lasted for almost an hour.

Details of what transpired between the two top leaders was not known immediately.On Saturday, TDP president Chandrababu Naidu had met both Yadav and Mayawati in the UP capital separately to discuss possibility of non-BJP parties coming together in the event of a fractured verdict.

As part of the alliance agreement, the BSP had contested 38 seats and the SP 37 seats leaving 3 for a smaller RLD while deciding not to field any candidate in Rae Bareli and Amethi, the stronghold of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi respectively.The meeting between the SP and BSP bosses on Monday came a day after exit polls projected 300 plus seats for the NDA in the 17th Lok Sabha.
The exit polls showed the mahagatbandhan wresting several seats from the BJP in Uttar Pradesh where the saffron party had won 71 of the 80 seats.

Some exit polls predicted that the SP-BSP alliance is likely to trump the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.The C Voter-Republic forecast gave the grand alliance in UP 40 seats against 38 for the NDA, while the Jan Ki Baat said the NDA may win 46-57 seats against 15-29 of the SP-BSP combine.

ABP News predicted a huge loss for the BJP in the state, saying it may get only 22 seats while the opposition alliance may emerge victorious in 56 constituencies.
Uttar Pradesh is a politically crucial state as it has 80 Lok Sabha seats.

Akhilesh in huddle with SP leaders, Mayawati in wait and watch mode: 

 Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati on Monday appeared to be opting for a wait-and watch-policy till the Lok Sabha election results are announced on May 23.
"The future course of action will be decided only after the final results are announced. Till then, she (Mayawati) will be staying put in the state capital," a party source said, requesting anonymity.

"We (SP-BSP-RLD) should get nothing less than 55 seats as the alliance has done exceedingly well. We expect around 60 (out of 80) seats. We not agree with exit poll projections," another source said.

Meanwhile, with most of the BSP leaders preferring to remain in their respective districts after hectic electioneering, there was not much activity in the party camp here."The party leaders will come to the state capital only after May 23. They have been asked to stay in their respective districts and oversee the counting process," a party leader said.

Roads outside the BSP office and Mayawati's residence reflected the caution with which the party is treading.

Forecast of good showing for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh by the Lok Sabha exit polls had its impact on the Samajwadi Party, with its headquarters Monday bereft of any enthusiasm and the party supremo Akhilesh Yadav going into a huddle with senior party leaders. A day after curtains came down on polling, there was silence in the opposition party's office, with Yadav closeted with SP leaders to discuss future strategy after May 23 results of the lower house of Parliament. 

The SP office here, which is generally abuzz with activities of party workers, was less crowded in the morning with some party supporters seen discussing the future prospects of the party and outcome of its alliance with the BSP and the RLD to keep the saffron party at bay. "The exit polls show us in good light. Some of the polls even give us over 50 seats. We are enthused with the exit polls, but are keeping our fingers crossed till the results are out on May 23," said Ajay Pratap Singh, a party leader from Sitapur, exuding confidence that the alliance candidate will win in his district.

A shop outside the SP office which usually does brisk business wore a deserted look with no buyers though the torrid weather also came in the way of people stirring out of their homes."We hope after the counting, if alliance gets required number of seats, there will be demand for flags and other materials," said Manoj, a vendor.

A group of young people having tea at a stall outside the party office were seen busy discussing results and credibility of exit polls."The exit polls have given us (SP-BSP) seats from 10 to 56. A vast range of seats has been projected and it's up to us to hazard a guess as to how many we are getting. They (exit polls) have only deepened the suspense instead of making the picture clear. We will prefer to wait and watch till the final results are out," Manoj Mishra, an SP supporter, said.

As far as SP leaders are considered, they seem to endorse their Yadav's decision to go for an alliance with the BSP and feel that they would surely make the BJP bite the dust in the state. "We are confident of our performance. We have made our own analysis and we know that our candidates are winning on a good number of seats. But, we will wait for the results and we will not want to engage in number game at this point," SP MLC Rajpal Kashyap said.