NEW DELHI. Mar 2: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued to maintain its lead in 171 of the 399 Lok Sabha constituencies followed by Congress with 134 and the United Front with 66 while others in 28, according to a latenight BSS report.

According to final unofficial results. Prime Minister I K Gu-Jral and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda have been elected from Jal-landhar in Punjab. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka respectively.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party vice-president I K Sharma tonight claimed that the party was "still confident of a majority and forming a gov-ernment"" at the centre.

"If there was any marginal gap it will not be difficult to fill." he said.

Congress admitted today that it had no hope of forming a government on its own as the first results were declared.

Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee said the BJP. its

main rival, was better placed to come to power.

Meanwhile, the BJP will initiate a dialogue with friendly parties from March 4 to form a government at the centre, party general secretary M Venkiah Naidu said.

As the counting was going he said the BJP will formally elect its parliamentary party leader on March 7 but added Atal Bihar! Vajpayee had already been declared as the BJP parliamentary party leader.

AFP adds: India's state-run television forecast today that Hindu nationalists ana their allies would fall just short of a majority after the election count.

The channel said the BJP and its dozen allies could win 256 seats in the 545-seat parliament. 16 short of a majority.

The Congress, the nationalists' main foe. would win 127 seats — less than the 140 they claimed in 1996 polls.

The outgoing United Front coalition would win 99 seats, down from its 1996 tally of 180.