NDA leaders meet PM Modi, Shah for dinner today amid exit poll euphoria

The topmost leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over dinner on Tuesday. The dinner will be both the BJP leaders thanking NDA allies for their support in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign and discussions on the road ahead.

While several exit polls have predicted a clear majority for the BJP on its own, some others have forecasted that the party could fall short of the majority mark and need support of its allies to reach the majority mark of 272 seats. The dinner will be held at the national capital’s Ashoka Hotel. 

Meanwhile, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has indicated it might be amenable to supporting an NDA government at the Centre if it were to grant Odisha special category status.

The meeting comes two days before the counting of votes on Thursday. Apart from Modi and Shah, Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Lok Janshakti Party’s Ram Vilas Paswan are likely to attend the meeting. Another meeting of BJP leaders, including union ministers, is likely to be held at the party headquarters on the same day.

Exit poll results have also somewhat quelled any speculation of an alternative front of regional parties getting together to form the government at the Centre. The Shiv Sena, the BJP’s ally in Maharashtra, on Monday was dismissive of the efforts of Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu to knit together an alliance of the Congress and regional parties.

“The ‘mahagathbandhan’ (proposed grand alliance of opposition parties) has at least five prime ministerial hopefuls... their hopes are likely to be dashed going by the current indications,” the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.

“The country cannot afford to have a coalition government crawling with the help of several small parties,” it said. The editorial said Naidu’s efforts are going to be futile. It said there was no guarantee that this nascent coalition would remain intact by the evening of May 23.

Odisha’s ruling BJD indicated it might shed its equidistance from the NDA and Congress-led UPA. BJD spokesperson Amar Patnaik said his party will support any coalition that will support its demand for granting special status to Odisha. “Going by the exit poll, if NDA forms the government in the Centre then we could very much be part of the government. Whoever understands our problem like special category status we are with them. We are open to that,” he said.

Adityanath sacks Rajbhar

In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath sacked dissident minister Om Prakash Rajbhar from his Cabinet. Rajbhar heads the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha campaign, Rajbhar had fallen out with the BJP over seat-sharing talks. He had demanded five seats for his party.

The BJP had asked the party to contest from the Ghosi Lok Sabha seat. Rajbhar fielded his party’s candidates on 39 seats across UP and announced support to ‘mahagathbandhan’ candidates of the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal in several others.

Rajbhar had earlier sent his resignation letter to the CM. It was not accepted as the BJP felt the development might have an adverse impact on its support base among the OBC Rajbhar, and other backward communities.

Adityanath on Monday announced on Twitter that he has requested UP Governor to sack Rajbhar, who was holding the portfolio of the backward class welfare and ‘divyangjan’ (differently abled) empowerment minister. A Raj Bhavan communique confirmed that the governor has accepted Rajbhar’s resignation. Two of Rajbhar’s nominees in UP backward class commission were also sacked.