BJP leader Narendra Modi is sure to head India’s new government but he could face problems even while providing strong governance for the next five years, astrologers say.

But there is no unanimity among astrologers across the country on the number of seats the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies will win in the just ended Lok Sabha election. The vote count is due Friday.

In their estimates, the number of seats the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win ranges from 250 to over 300.

Haridwar-based Ratna Kaushik told IANS that while Modi was bound to be the next prime minister, he could encounter problems that could lead to a major crisis in October this year.

But later, including if there is a new election, Modi will emerge a very powerful leader, he said.

Mumbai’s astro-aura reader Milan Thakar added: “As per Modi’s astrological charts, the formation of the BJP and other crucial factors, Modi is likely to take over as prime minister.”

But he too warned that Modi could face “initial teething problems, especially with some smaller NDA allies”.

Kolkata-based astrologer Rakesh Raj Gupta has predicted that a Modi government will run smoothly for the next five years and “will boost the image of the country the world over”.

But there will be times when Modi will have to battle political crises — from July to November 2015 and again from August to November 2016.

According to Gupta, these problems will be caused by the Third Front “with the blind backing of the Congress”.

He said the most challenging times for Modi will come between 2015 and 2017 when there will be opposition to him from both within the party and opposition parties.

Chennai astrologer H. Venkataraman too is sure that Modi, who led the BJP into the election, will “certainly become prime minister”.

But he warned of a major shake-up in December this year “due to changes in the planetary positions like the transition of Guru.

“The NDA government will be there but there may be changes at the leadership,” Venkataraman said.

Thakar, however, feels that Modi will rule “firmly, and generally peacefully, for an entire five-year term” during which period the economy will prosper in certain sectors.

He too had a word of caution for the BJP veteran.

Modi’s spectacular rise in the BJP “may result in immense internal strains and ego clashes with possible irreversible long-term consequences which senior party leaders will have to guard against”.

Thakar also felt that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal “may throw up surprises” in the election.

Bangalore-based R.K. Padmanabhan told IANS that Modi’s prime ministership “indicates bright prospects for the country” although “there would be challenges and controversies”.

Exit polls at the end of the Lok Sabha election Monday have predicted a BJP-NDA win, leaving the Congress badly bruised.