(Image source from: Sonia calls out Mamata)

If you thought all was lost for Congress, hang on! The party isn't the one to give up so easily, no, not until Sonia Gandhi is at the helm of things.

In a final attempt to cobble together the government with the hope that the NDA falls short of the halfway mark, the Congress party is reaching out to  its one-time allies to stop BJP from rising to  power. Quite interestingly, these foes are equally opposed to Narendra Modi or BJP coming to power. So riding on the Bollywood cliché of “Dushman ka dushman, dost hota hai” (foes of foes are friends), Sonia is playing her final trump card.

Apparently, she has been in constant touch with Mayawati, Mulayam and Mamata Banerjee, convincing them that come what may, they shouldn't tilt in favor of BJP. So, will the math add up for the too-hopeful Congress?

Poll survey predicts 13 to 17 seats for the SP and 10 to 14 for the BSP in Uttar Pradesh. If they manage to win two more seats in Madhya Pradesh, the BSP tally could go up to 16. That would be around 32-36 seats between the two UP-based parties.

The Trinamool Congress is expected to win 25 to 31 seats in WB. If the Congress successfully works its '3M' formula by sorting their internal conflicts, this could  tally up 60-odd seats in Congress' favor.

With the best projection of all the exit polls for the UPA putting it at 135, it appears that the math will still not add up, unless the third front or federal front, often touted as “other” come together as keep Modi out. Together, they can win anywhere between 130 to 150 seats.

Congress is reaching out to parties outside the UPA, "as part of working out a minimum understanding of keeping Modi and the BJP out of power". Mamata has been an ally of the UPA in the past, and even SP and BSP has provided outside support to the Congress-led government, though never concurrently.

Sonia apparently got in touch with Mamata just as the latter got into a bitter war of words with Narendra Modi, calling him a "bhonda" (fool) and a "gadha" (donkey) even as he called her a lioness glued to her chair and plunging West Bengal into chaos in the name of transformation. It's said that it was at Sonia Gandhi's behest that TMC  set up some kind of back channel discussions with both UP parties.

While Mulayam's Samajwadi Party has admitted that it would be willing to collaborate with the Congress to keep the BJP out, Mayawati has maintained silence.

While it was being speculated that the Congress would try to prop up a minority government against Modi, the party made a smart move by holding the cards close to its chest.

In the past, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi insisted that the party will form UPA 3, hinting that the  party members would prefer to sit in opposition if the vote is clearly against the UPA.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury