Oppn in 'wait and watch' as they await poll results before making next move

Top opposition leaders will be in touch with each other and in case the NDA falls short of a majority, they will act swiftly to stake claim to form government, sources said Wednesday, a day ahead of counting of votes of the Lok Sabha elections.

Non-NDA parties are in a "wait and watch" mode and their top leaders will be in constant touch with each other to bringing the opposition together, they said.

In case the NDA does not get a majority, the opposition parties will write to the President and present themselves as one block and assert that they should be given preference over the single largest party, the sources said.

Opposition leaders have already held meetings and top Congress leaders also did some brainstorming ahead counting day as they think they stand a chance at forming the government if the NDA falls short of the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

Almost all exit polls have predicted a victory for the BJP-led NDA, but that has not brought the morale of opposition parties down as they still hope for a "better" result.

"We will be in constant touch with each other and will try to put our act together after seeing the numbers, in case the NDA fails to get a majority," an opposition leader said.

He added that any talk of forming the government would come only after the numbers come out on Thursday.