'Super NDA' in the works? Ramdas Athawale hints at post-results alliance strategy after exit polls, sends message to 'smaller parties'

As the Lok Sabha elections, 2019 came to an end with the culmination of the last phase of elections on May 19 and projections by Exit polls that the NDA likely to come back to power with Modi 2.0, Ramdas Athawale, president of the Republican Party of India who is an ally of BJP said that the party may think of a post-poll alliance with smaller parties that oppose the national parties like Congress and regional parties like Chandrababu Naidu's TDP.

Speaking to ANI, he said:

"In Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu 's opponent Jagan Mohan Reddy is there. Congress opposition Chandrashekhar Rao, Odisha's Naveen Patnaik, and then there are many Independent candidates too, They can come with us, let's see what strategy we build once the estimates are in." 

This comes after the Exit polls projected a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On May 19, Republic double exit polls with CVoter and Jan Ki Baat said NDA likely to come back to power. Here is what the projections of Republic double exit polls are:  

As per the projections by the CVoter Exit Poll, National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is predicted to secure 287 seats - a majority - in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with 42.3% vote-share. In comparison, in 2014, the NDA had won a sweeping 336 seat share, with BJP alone winning 282 seats on its own. The CVoter exit poll further predicts that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-led by Congress is projected to clinch only 128 seats - 69 seats more as compared to the UPA's seat-share in 2104 which was 59. In 2014, the Congress had fared dismally winning just 44 seats. The vote-shares projections show UPA securing 29.6 percent votes in the 2019 polls. The remaining non-NDA and non-UPA parties or 'Others' are projected to win 127 seats, out of which in the electorally critical state of Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party 'Mahagathbandhan' has been projected to win 40 seats in the state. The 'Others' are projected to clinch a vote-share of 28.1 percent. 

As per the projections by the Jan Ki Baat Exit Poll, National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is projected to clinch an estimated seat-share between 295 and 315 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Out of this, the BJP is predicted to secure an estimated seat-share between 254 and 274, with the 264 medians falling eight seats short of the half-way mark. In comparison, in 2014, the BJP had won 282 seats on its own. The Jan Ki Baat exit poll further predicts that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-led by Congress is projected to a win between 122 and 125 seats, with Congress predicted to secure 71 to 74 of these. In 2014, the Congress had fared dismally winning just 44 seats. The remaining non-NDA and non-UPA parties or 'Others' are projected to win 102-125 seats, out of which in the electorally critical state of Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party 'Mahagathbandhan' has been projected to win 21-32 seats (26).

Earlier, YSRCP's Jagan Mohan Reddy before the elections of Andhra Pradesh said that he is open to allying with anyone who can help them oust TDP led by Chandrababu Naidu in the state. There have also been speculations about Odisha after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a joint review meeting after disastrous Cyclone Fani. The Prime Minister also appaluded the efforts by the Odisha CM to reduce casualties. 

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