At the BJP headquarters in Mumbai, the atmosphere remained that of uncertainty till the early evening hours as the party couldn’t achieve a majority on its own. The karaykartas and office bearers were closely watching the election results, waiting for their time to celebrate as the NDA tally stood at about 293.

The margins were close on crucial seats like that of North Central where BJP had pitched Ujjwal Nikam against Congress candidate Varsha Gaikwad. By afternoon, rumours of a split in the NDA with Nitish Kumar or Chandrababu Naidu had appeared in the media.