BJP parliamentary board likely to meet on March 11

The Parliamentary Board of BJP is likely to meet on March 11 before the result of five assembly polls are scheduled to be announced.

With all major exit polls projecting a good show by the saffron party, including in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh where it is projected to emerge as the single largest party, its highest decision-making body is likely to take stock of the situation and chalk out future strategy.

The BJP is ahead in 4 states out of five that are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, according to various Exit Poll results.

This was the first time Assembly elections were held after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shocking decision to demonetise old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes last year on November 8. Many political analysts were seeing these elections as a referendum on Prime Minister Modi and economic policies undertaken by him.

If this was the referendum on Modi's demonetization move, it's clear that the Prime Minister has cleared the note ban test. At least for now. And not only this, the BJP has also emerged as the single largest political party in the country.

Here is India Today's Exit Poll forecast

Uttar Pradesh -  403 seats
India Today | SP+Congress (88-112), BJP (251-279), BSP (28-42), Others (6-16)

Goa - 40 seats
India Today | Congress (10), BJP (15), AAP (7), Others (8)

Uttarakhand - 71 seats
India Today | Congress (12-21), BJP (46-53), BSP (1-2), Others (1-4)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah are among the board's 12 members who also include Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar, Thawarchand Gehlot and J P Nadda.

A party source said the meeting has been tentatively scheduled for tomorrow. However, there is a possibility that it could be held on Sunday depending on how the results pan out. The counting of votes will start tomorrow morning.

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Exit polls had yesterday projected a hung assembly in Uttar Pradesh, with BJP likely to lead the table, winning anywhere between 164 and 210 of the 403 seats. They also projected a good show by the party in Goa and Uttarakhand.

(With inputs from PTI)