BJP leaders meet ahead of poll counting

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, held a meeting on Monday, a day before the Lok Sabha poll results will be declared.

They are learnt to have taken stock of the prevailing political situation following the exit polls predicting a big win for the BJP-led alliance, and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)'s series of meetings rejecting the forecast and sticking to its claim that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is on its way out.

Though there was no official word from the BJP on the meeting in which party president J P Nadda was also present, its senior leaders are learnt to have also brainstormed over the strategy to take on the opposition.

A BJP delegation had on Sunday approached the Elections Commission, accusing the Congress and its allies of trying to undermine the integrity of India's electoral process, and urged the poll body to prevent any attempts of 'violence and unrest' during the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls on June 4.

Leaders from the INDIA bloc have urged the EC to ensure that postal ballots are counted and their results declared before the outcome of the EVMs is announced, and stressed that the poll panel should issue clear guidelines on the counting process and ensure that those are implemented.