I have clarified 50 times; Modiji will become the PM again: Gadkari

'We fought the elections under the leadership of Modiji and people of ourt country are supporting BJP once again,' said Union minister Nitin Gadkari

A day after nearly all exit polls predicted a comfortable majority for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP-led) National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls, Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari (pictured) launched the poster of PM Narendra Modi, a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Nagpur. Gadkari, who contested from the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat, said the exit polls were not the "final decision" but indicated that the BJP would once again come to power. Asked if his name was also being considered for the PM's post, Gadkari said, "I have clarified this around 50 times. We fought the elections under the leadership of Modiji and he will certainly become the prime minister again. The people of the country are once again supporting the BJP,  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the work done by us in the last five years. And the exit polls are an indication," he said. The makers of the biopic, announced earlier this month, said the film would be released countrywide on May 24, a day after the results of the general elections polls are declared.

Too much confusion

The announcement of the exit poll results has landed the regional satraps — at least in the south — in a state of disarray. With hardly two days to go before the results of the Lok Sabha election are announced, there is much confusion about a possible meeting of the Congress-allied regional parties with the party high command in Delhi on May 23. While Tamil Nadu Congress chief K S Alagiri said leaders of the regional major Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) would participate in the meeting on May 23, DMK President M K Stalin told party colleagues there was no such meeting on the cards that day. Later, Alagiri told journalists since he wasn't participating in the proposed meeting he wouldn't know when it had been scheduled.

The most aware state

Madhya Pradesh has emerged as the "most aware state" with the largest increase in the proportion of votes polled in the just concluded Lok Sabha election. The state recorded a 10 percentage point increase in the votes polled compared to the 2014 election. According to the Chief Electoral Officer of the state, V L Kantarao, in 2014, Madhya Pradesh recorded 61 per cent voting but in 2019, it crossed 71 per cent. Andhra Pradesh recorded an 8.78 percentage point increase in voting and is in second position. Polling for the general elections concluded on Sunday. In the last phase Madhya Pradesh recorded more than 75 per cent voting.