UPA, NDA working overtime to cobble up required majority

New Delhi, May 15 (ANI): The suspense continues to mount in political circles on which combine-the UPA or the NDA-will be in a position to form the next government at the Centre.

Key political leaders are travessing the length and breadth of the country meeting each other to determine and convince who will join which coalition or front.

Counting of votes will take place on Saturday, and most political leaders are saying that they will confabulate and reveal their respective positions after the results emerge.

"We are receiving positive indications from various parties. We will not reveal what we are discussing or what we have discussed till the results are out. Once the results are out, the BJP Parliamentary Party will meet and take stock and then decide the way forward," said BJP president Rajnath Singh.

"Everything is fluid," said NCP leader Praful Patel.

Congress leaders Pranab Mukherjee, A K Antony, Ahmad Patel and Digvijay Singh were huddled in talks till late last night.

Given his good equation with CPI-M veterans Jyoti Basu and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Mukherjee may be given the task of opening up the lines of communication with Left parties.

A meeting between BJP president Rajnath Singh and Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh at a wedding reception last night set the political circles abuzz. The SP leader, however, dismissed media speculation of a political understanding being reached.

"People are aware that it is only Congress which can provide a stable government. All our allies are happy with us," said Jayanthi Natarajan of Congress.

However, BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar expressed confidence that his party will emerge as the single largest with more 30 seats that the Congress. "NDA will emerge as the single largest coalition with 50 seats more than UPA," he claimed.

"All options are open. Everything will depend on the numbers," said Amar Singh. The SP leader said he was in touch with CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury and would be speaking to NCP leader Sharad Pawar.

The Fourth Front, comprising Lalu Yadav's RJD, Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP and SP have said the combine was averse to having any alliance with the BJP as also Mayawati's BSP.

"Everybody is talking to everyone," Patel went on to add.

JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav adopted a cautious approach. "There are some people with whom we are talking with some belief. The talks have been ongoing since yesterday night," he said without elaborating.

"Congress does not use and throw its allies. We had a difference of opinion with RJD, LJP and the SP over the number of seats allotted to our party but they continued to be ministers and continue to be part of the UPA," explained Natarajan.

"We shall prevent formation of a BJP-led government. This does not mean that automatically there would be a blanket support to a government led by the Congress," CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta contended. (ANI)