BJP chief Amit Shah is hosting a 'thanksgiving' dinner for the allies of the NDA government, two days before the counting of the votes for the Lok Sabha elections. The dinner comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Shah met the central ministers at the BJP headquarters in Delhi this evening. Allies like Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, BJP's Punjab ally Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Badal, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan and his son Chirag Paswan, AIADMK's E Palaniswami and O Pannerselvan, Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel and Ramdas Athawale are all attending the dinner. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also attending the dinner.
The dinner at Delhi's Ashoka Hotel - hosted by Amit Shah -- is also expected to double up as a strategy session, even though Sunday's exit polls predicted a comfortable victory for the BJP.
An aggregate of exit polls predicted the NDA will win seats ranging from 282 to 365 Lok Sabha seats, allowing it to form a government comfortably. Amit Shah had claimed after the sixth phase of the elections that the BJP had crossed the 300-seat mark.
While most opposition leaders including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have dismissed the exit polls, many of them have also suggested manipulation of the voting machines. Mamata Banerjee had said such exit polls were cue to "manipulate or replace thousands of EVMS".
On Monday, Chandrababu Naidu had said the Election Commission should establish transparency and accountability.
Former President Pranab Mukherjee also expressed concern over allegations of EVM tampering, described by him as tampering the voters' verdict.
He also said the "onus of ensuring institutional integrity" lies with the Election Commission. "The safety and security of EVMs which are in the custody of the EC is the responsibility of the Commission," Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement.
A series of video clips have surfaced, which, opposition parties say, prove that EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) are being tampered with or being transported in private cars in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.