How BJP, Confident Of Big Lok Sabha Polls Win, Is Planning Celebrations

Taking a cue from the exit polls predicting a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has begun preparations for its victory celebrations in Delhi and elsewhere.

The BJP is likely to hold its victory celebrations at key locations in Delhi, including the Bharat Mandapam, Yashobhoomi, and Kartavya Path, after the swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi, sources said.

A final approval, however, is pending, they added.

A grand roadshow is also being planned from the Lok Kalyan Marg in Delhi, where the Prime Minister's official residence is located, to the BJP headquarters, sources said. It is expected over a lakh people will join the victory march.

Celebrations are also being planned in Mumbai, where the BJP has placed orders for over 10,000 laddus.

An aggregate of 12 exit polls on Saturday predicted a thumping victory for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. It gave 365 seats to the NDA alliance led by the BJP, much higher than the 272-mark a party needs to cross to form government in the country.

Exit polls, however, do not always get it right.

The exit polls also predicted that the BJP is set to break ground in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south, and make large gains in Odisha and Bengal in the east.

While the BJP has welcomed the exit poll predictions, the Opposition has dismissed the forecast and said the counting day will throw a surprise. Following a meeting of the Opposition leaders part of the INDIA bloc, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge Saturday said that the bloc will win at least 295 seats out of the total 543.