Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati reportedly decided to hold talks with opposition parties on May 24.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, after meeting with alliance partner Mayawati on Monday, spoke about prepping for "the next step". Ahead of results on May 23 Thursday, exit polls have predicted that their opposition alliance will win around 30 seats in Uttar Pradesh, less than the BJP and perhaps far less than the two rivals-turned-partners expect.
Akhilesh Yadav visited Mayawati's Mall Avenue home in Lucknow and the two had what their aides said were discussions on the political situation.
Reports said the two leaders discussed and assessed their candidates' performance in every seat. According to the poll of polls, the BJP will win more than half the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The party was expected to lose some of its seats from 2014, when it won 71, but if exit polls predict right, the Mayawati-Akhilesh Yadav combo has not hit the BJP as hard as was anticipated by many pollsters.
"We will talk after the results on May 23. I maintain my stand that we are winning 56 seats in UP," Akhilesh Yadav told reporters after his meeting.
The two reportedly also decided that they would hold talks with other opposition parties a day after the results, on May 24.
That means the two plan to skip UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's meeting on the results day. Also, that Mayawati has no intention of meeting Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi till the results are out.
"They will have telephonic talks with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar on May 23 and with other leaders, including those of the Congress on May 24," news agency IANS quoted a source as saying.
This morning, Mayawati's top aide Satish Mishra confirmed that she will not come to Delhi, contradicting reports about her meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
Sources say Mayawati is waiting for the actual results before her next move.