NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW/KOLKATA/CHENNAI: Unfazed by the exit polls indicating a landslide for the Narendra Modi government, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu continued his efforts to form a non-BJP coalition by calling on Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Monday.
But Mamata and other regional biggies like SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP boss Mayawati chose to wait till the final results arrive on May 23 before making any fresh move.
Sources said all three will skip a meeting of opposition parties called in Delhi on Tuesday, though the Congress will participate.
Without confirming the meeting, a source said Naidu along with other opposition leaders will approach the chief election commissioner on Tuesday over the issue of VVPATs and EVMs.
In Lucknow, Akhilesh drove to Mayawati’s house and was closeted with her for an hour.
Naidu’s plan, according to sources, is to launch a pre-emptive strike as he believes the NDA would fail to reach the majority mark on May 23.
The plan involves submitting a list of parties committed to an alternative government to President Ramnath Kovind before the result are out.
In Chennai, DMK chief MK Stalin, a Congress ally, denied knowledge about a dinner meeting convened by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on May 23.
“It’s media’s speculation. There is no such information,” he said. However, TN Congress unit president K S Alagiri said the Thursday meeting was on.