Assembly election: It is natural for BJP and MGP to come together to form next govt in Goa, Fadnavis says

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav accused the ruling BJP of attempting to “steal” the people's mandate after a truck laden with EMVs was intercepted by the party workers in Varanasi on Tuesday. The Varanasi district election officer claimed that the EVMs were being carried for training purposes.

Ahead of counting of votes, Goa was in the throes of hectic activities on Tuesday as parties got down to formulating their strategies keeping in mind possible post-poll scenarios with the regional outfit MGP getting wooed by the BJP as well as the Congress, the two main contenders of power in the tiny coastal state which has a history of political volatility and shifting of loyalties. For the record, both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress expressed confidence about getting a clear majority in the 40-member assembly, for which polls were held on February 14 and votes will be counted on March 10, but their political managers were busy readying their strategies to avoid any slip-ups in their quest for power.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said talks were on between leaders of his party and other opposition parties in Goa ahead of counting of votes in the Assembly elections in the coastal state.

After exit polls hinted at the return of the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Uttar Pradesh, Rajya Sabha MP Harnath Singh Yadav on Tuesday predictions are true and said that Lord Krishna came to his dream and told him that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will form government in the state.

Ahead of the much-awaited results of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate from Hastinapur constituency Yogesh Verma is keeping an eye on EVM strong room with binoculars to prevent any mishandling. In Hastinapur, SP candidate Yogesh Verma and his supporters are camping outside the strong room with binoculars. Verma and his supporters are keeping watch on EVMs for 24 hours by maintaining an 8-hour shift.Asked about his surveillance of EVMs, Verma said he has full faith in administration but he does not want to take any chance for the protection of the people's mandate.

A day after the exit polls predicted a hung Assembly in Goa, hectic political activities have begun in the state with the Congress focusing on keeping its flock together and plans to shift all its candidates to a resort, a senior party leader said on Tuesday. On the other side, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, while other senior Goa BJP leaders are planning to meet their state poll in-charge Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai. Elections to the 40-member Goa Assembly were held on February 14 and the counting of votes is scheduled for March 10.

With the majority of Exit Polls predicting that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will retain power in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said that her party fought the electoral battle hard.