New Delhi: The stage is set for the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections today, as leading political parties continue to hunt for new allies to make up the numbers in a fractured Parliament.
The much-awaited election results are expected to be out by 11:30 am as counting will begin at 8am with opening of the postal ballot in the deputy commissioner-cum-returning officer RK Rao's office.
The question now is who our MPs will be, and who will form the next government?
The Congress has a juggle on its hands with mutually exclusive potential allies like the SP or BSP, DMK or the AIADMK.
Speaking on NDTV's India Decides, Anand Sharma ruled out supporting the Third Front.
"No question of supporting Third Front. UPA will emerge as the largest alliance," said the MoS for External Affairs.
On the other hand, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh has said that all options are open and everything will depend in number.
Speaking about the reports of talks between him and Congress leader Digvijay Singh, Amar Singh said that the Congress would talk to the Samajwadi Party if they got the numbers.
The race for numbers has all kinds of options with everyone literally keeping all doors open. So, when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that whoever gives Bihar a special economic package would get his support, the Congress -- and even his own ally the BJP -- scrambled to promise him just that.
But with no party assessments giving any of the formations a comfortable majority, hard bargaining is going on behind the scenes.
Amar Singh said as much: The SP's support to the Congress would depend on what sort of bargain they reach.
Even outside the Capital the race is on with reports that Chandrababu Naidu is speaking to both Naveen Patnaik and Sharad Yadav.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said he spoke to BJD chief and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to secure his support for UPA's bid to form a government at the Centre.
However, Biju Janata Dal on Friday stuck to its familiar stand of favouring a non-Congress and non-BJP government at the Centre.
"We have already made it clear that we would not join any BJP or Congress-led government. We are awaiting the poll results," said BJD spokesperson Damodar Rout.
Down south, Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam party on Friday said it is keeping its doors open for post-poll alliances. Praja Rajyam, which is expected to win a sizeable number of seats in both the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh assembly, also said the Third Front was at present a "fractured front".
Whether it's the Congress, the BJP, the Left, the Samajwadi Party and the Biju Janata Dal or the RJD, virtually every political party is engaged in backroom talks with every other political party because no one wants to leave any option unexplored in their battle to be at the seat of power in Delhi.
Meanwhile, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav was also busy contacting political 'friends' for the formation of next government.
"We are talking to some people but I can't reveal their names to the media. Apart from Jayalalithaa I have worked with all the leaders in the past 15-20 years. With most of them I have personal relations," said Sharad Yadav, JD(U) chief.
Left sources have indicated that Prakash Karat has not softened his stand on support to the Congress.
Sources say if it comes to it the Left will ask the UPA to support a Third Front government. Significantly, CPM leader Brinda Karat said earlier that the Left is still working for a non-Congress and non-BJP government.
While CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said the Third Front was not averse to considering Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's name as one of its possible candidates for Prime Ministership if he extends support to them.
"If he (Nitish) extends support to us, we, among others, will consider his name for the post," Bardhan told reporters here after he was asked a volley of questions on whether the senior Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar CM has the stature to be one of Third Front probables for prime ministership. (With PTI inputs)