Chandrababu Naidu anchors Opposition ship; Mayawati may call on Sonia Gandhi before results

Days ahead of the final results, the Opposition camp, with Chandrababu Naidu as its charioteer, has already started preparing its next move.

Naidu went on for the second round of alliance-stitching exercise on Saturday and Sunday shunting between Lucknow and Delhi to hold talks with Mahagathbandhan leaders and Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, even when voting was still on for the last phase. He again met NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday, two days after their first meeting.

His efforts seemed to have paved the way as BSP sources said that Mayawati is expected to meet Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on Monday. From the beginning of the polls, the BSP supremo had not only maintained an arm's length with Congress but had also equated it as a principal enemy along with the BJP.

Mayawati's change in stance is being seen as a possible shot for a bigger role if both the BJP and Congress don't get enough numbers to form the government on the basis of their pre-poll alliance.

The TDP chief's attempts are also being seen in response to his rival – Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who recently tried to cobble up a non-BJP and non-Congress federal third front. However, KCR couldn't make any headway after DMK chief MK Stalin stuck to his party's allegiance to the Congress.

The real negotiations, however, will come to the fore once the actual numbers are out on May 23 and 24. Sonia Gandhi has already called a meeting of all opposition parties on May 23.