The usual Uddhav hiccups

The second meeting was of the NDA leaders at 5star Hotel Ashoka in the night, convened by PM Modi. It was intended to double up as a strategy session, even though exit polls have predicted a comfortable victory for the BJP.

Amit Shah had made it a point to close ranks with

fractious allies like Shiv Sena and Nitish Kumar before the elections. Yet, there were the usual hiccups. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar initially appeared reluctant to attend but finally took a flight to join the jamboree. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, too, attended the dinner, hours after his party spokesperson said he would not attend it and Subhash Desai, a Rajya Sabha MP, will be the party's representative. Sanjay Raut questioned the need for holding such a meeting ahead of the results and asked: "Till the results come out and the picture is clear, what will we do in Delhi?"

The dinner was followed by a meeting in which nearly two dozen allies facilitated Prime Minister Modi: All of them came one after another and felicitated him with a shawl.

Rajnath Singh briefed the media and quoted PM Modi as saying that NDA represents the 'true soul of India' and the alliance is like a family. "NDA has become a strong pillar for all regional aspirations," he added. He also said that NDA has taken a vow to fulfil aspirations of the people and take the country forward. "5 trillion dollar economy is our aim," he added.

Rajnath summed up his assessment of the five year stint, saying that "PM Modi took historical decisions during his tenure. All NDA allies congratulated him."

BJP sources said real celebrations will be on Thursday and Friday when the media will be most welcome.