Parties ready with Plan B, wait for the verdict on Sunday

MUMBAI: Although all exit polls give the BJP a clear edge over the others, the party is ready for any eventuality when the results are declared on Sunday. It has a plan each for several possible scenarios. The other parties, still hopeful of getting the numbers required to form a government, too have started exploring ways to deal with whatever situation arises.

While the BJP welcomed the exit polls on Wednesday, its former ally, the Shiv Sena, rubbished the projections. The Congress and NCP, too, ran down the exit polls, which gave them fewer seats than the BJP and the Sena. The MNS decided to wait till the results were declared, before making any move.

Strategists of all parties, meanwhile, have started working on permutations and combinations that can bring them to power. According to sources from various parties, their top leaders will assess the situation based on feedback from units across the state and then plan what they need to do next.

BJP insiders said even though they are confident of forming a government on their own, they have an alternative plan in place to reach the magic figure of 145. The BJP would reach out to smaller parties independents and the MNS If the verdict is fractured, the party could even look at reviv ing old equations. The BJP could approach the Sena, which stood second in the exit polls, in case the deficit is too big.

State BJP president Devendra Fadnavis said his party would not need any par ty’s support to form the govern ment. “People across the state have voted for change. We will win an absolute majority on our own,” he said.