Unfazed by the exit polls, Naidu meets Mamata on post-counting day move

New Delhi, May 20: Unfazed by the exit polls, which gave a clear majority for the ruling NDA, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday met Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee as part of his efforts to unite opposition parties against the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha election results on May 23.

Naidu had a 45-minute meeting with Banerjee on the future strategies of the "Mahagathbandhan" (Grand Alliance), during which he also discussed the possibilities of forming a non-BJP government, including regional parties, with the support of the Congress.

The TDP chief had a busy weekend as he called on the Gandhis, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, on Sunday. And on Saturday, he had met Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Dubbing the exit polls "gossip", Banerjee on Sunday said she doesn't trust such surveys as the "game plan" is to use them for "manipulation" of EVMs. Her remarks came after most exit polls forecasted another term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with some predicting that the BJP-led NDA will get more than 300 seats, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 272 in the Lok Sabha.