Congress office deserted as BJP gears up for celebrations

Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will, however, be away from Delhi on counting day, and will only come to the national capital Saturday.

An army of cooks, called specially from an Old Delhi area famous for its culinary excellence, are preparing 2.5 tonnes of laddoos, an Indian sweet synonymous with celebrations.

"We have called 35 cooks specially from Old Delhi for preparing these laddoos," Ghanshyam Das Agarwal, national co-convenor of the BJP traders cell, told IANS.

He said at least two car-loads of fire crackers have already arrived while more are on their way, while two bands have also been booked for the celebrations.

A giant LED screen has been put up in the office campus for live updates of the counting process.

The office buzzed with activities, as party workers from across the country started pouring in.

A tent has been erected at senior party leader Arun Jaitley's official residence next to the BJP's national headquarters at Ashoka Road that will serve as a makeshift studio for TV news channels.

Jaitley and Modi confidante Amit Shah held a meeting with party spokespersons and leaders who will act as panelists on TV channels Friday.

The party office was cleaned and flower pots were given a fresh coat of paint. Stickers of party leaders including Modi, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, veteran leader L.K. Advani and party president Rajnath Singh were seen pasted across the doors in the party office.

The whole of the BJP national office as well as the surroundings are being lit up as the party anticipates victory.

"There will be a grand celebration tomorrow (Friday). We are just waiting for our new prime minister Narendra Modiji," a party worker, busy with preparations, said.

In a relatively quiet Congress office, a tent has been erected with enclosures to help TV channels interact with spokespersons.

"Most of the channels will have programmes from morning to evening. This is why we have put up small tents and enclosures. It is to make it easier for our spokespersons and teams from TV channels. They can bring their OB vans and use the tents and enclosures at different times of the day to speak to different spokespersons," a Congress leader told IANS.

The party posters in the premises were markedly different from the campaign posters, carrying just the Congress election symbol, a hand, and none of the party leaders figuring on them.

Congress leader Ajay Maken also held a meeting with party spokespersons ahead of the counting day.