Nitish Meets Modi, Fuels Speculation on Cabinet Berth

New Delhi: On the eve of the Lok Sabha poll results, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. The top brass of the BJP also convened a crucial meeting to plan their next steps, confident of achieving a hat-trick victory. Counting begins at 8 am on Tuesday.

Exit polls have predicted that the Narendra Modi-led NDA will retain power. However, the Opposition coalition, I.N.D.I.A., has dismissed these predictions as "bogus" and claimed they are a "deliberate attempt" to justify alleged rigging by the BJP-led government.

Though no official details were released about the Bihar CM's meeting with Modi, it has fuelled speculation. Political circles in Patna have been abuzz with rumours since last week that Kumar might be offered a key portfolio in the Modi government. However, many within the state BJP feel it is "too early" to suggest Kumar's move to the national political scene. The Bihar CM was also in the national capital for an eye checkup and had a telephone conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah before returning to Patna.

Earlier in the day, Shah attended a crucial meeting at BJP president J.P. Nadda's residence. The meeting, which discussed the party’s future course of action, was attended by Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Ashwini Vaishnav, and Mansukh Mandaviya, along with national general secretary Vinod Tawde and other national office bearers. Former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar was also present, amid speculation that he might be assigned a key position in the national team.

The gathering at Nadda's residence also focused on preparations for June 4, when the Lok Sabha poll results will be declared. There is a buzz at the BJP headquarters about a potential mega road show featuring BJP leadership and Modi on Tuesday.

During the meeting, BJP leaders reviewed the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls and assessed the political landscape following the exit poll predictions and the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc's rejection of these forecasts.

After the meeting, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde addressed the media, stating, "A meeting was held to discuss and review the elections conducted in seven phases and to discuss the counting of votes, which is to take place tomorrow. The meeting was presided over by party national president JP Nadda." He added that they reviewed the voting patterns observed during all seven phases.

Tawde also mentioned that the party leadership discussed the deployment of party polling agents across the country for the vote count. These agents have been instructed to monitor any suspicious activities and report them immediately to the designated election commission officials and the party leadership. When questioned about plans to celebrate the projected victory, Tawde responded, “There was no such discussion at present. We will look into this only after seeing the trends, not based on the exit polls’ projections.”