In Narendra Modi's Gujarat Meeting, Some See Preps for Big Moves

New Delhi: A day after exit polls said Narendra Modi is likely to be India's next prime minister, the BJP leader was busy in his home state of Gujarat, meeting with all state legislators and parliamentarians from his party.

All forecasts showed the BJP and its allies trouncing the Congress, and most indicated the BJP-led coalition would seal a narrow majority. (Exit Polls: Numbers Stack Up in Favour of BJP-Led NDA)

Results of the national election are due on Friday, and some experts warn against over-confidence in a BJP victory given notorious forecasting errors for the last two general elections. (Narendra Modi-led BJP Set For Victory, Exit Polls Show)

But Mr Modi's gathering in Gandhinagar is being interpreted as an exercise to find consensus on who will succeed him as Chief Minister of Gujarat if he moves to Delhi to run the country.

"There is a process... the high command will take the decision that will be ratified by legislators but all that will happen post-May 16,"  said Om Mathur, a party leader, striking a note of caution. (Voters in India Expected to Give Narendra Modi a Mandate)

But privately, many party leaders admit that while the BJP doesn't want to be seen as jumping the gun in assuming Mr Modi has got the job he sought, informally, the process of finding his successor in Gujarat is well underway.

The front-runner is Revenue Minister Anandiben Patel, who is a trusted aide of Mr Modi and an experienced administrator. Finance Minister Nitin Patel and Industries Minister Saurabh Patel are also in the running, as is Bhikhu Dalsaniya, an organizational secretary of the BJP and liaison with the BJP's ideological parent, the powerful Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS.

Because this is being seen as one of the last meetings Mr Modi will chair as chief minister, office bearers were invited to attend this evening's conclave as well- another signal that Mr Modi's move to Delhi is now being taken as a given.