Akhilesh in a huddle with SP leaders after exit poll results

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.