Parties gearing up with plans before counting

Dehradun: With less than 24 hours to go for counting of votes, political parties in Uttarakhand on Wednesday began fine-tuning their strategies to deal with any scenario that could possibly emerge once the results of the assembly polls are declared.

Counting of votes for the State's 70 assembly seats will begin at 8 am on Thursday. Over 65 per cent polling had been recorded in the Uttarakhand Assembly Polls held on February 14. While many exit polls have given either the BJP or Congress a majority in Uttarakhand, several of them have predicted a close fight between the two major players or a hung assembly - a scenario in which the role of winning independents and candidates of regional outfits like the AAP, SP, BSP and UKD will become significant in government formation.

The BJP and Congress are locked in straight contests on 40 to 45 seats, while the regional outfits make the fight triangular on 25-30 seats. Though the BJP and Congress have exuded confidence of winning a clear majority, their leaders have held several closed-door meetings among themselves over the last few days to deal with different scenarios that they may confront after the poll results.

The major parties are also keeping an eye on rebels who entered the fray as independents against their official nominees. Thirteen rebels from the BJP and six from the Congress contested this time. BJP national general secretary and strategist Kailash Vijayvargiya's visit here on Sunday had sent the Congress into alert mode with several party leaders already in town to ensure that their flock of MLAs remains intact.

Considered an expert in the politics of making and breaking, Vijayvargiya was closeted with another party strategist and former CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank after his arrival. They held meetings with several other party leaders, including Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.