Poll trends: Stability likely, except in Kerala
With Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry scheduled on Thursday, an opinion poll has indicated that there may be a change of regime only in Kerala in while others including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, where polls are due month end, the parties in power will continue to retain power.
The upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections is set to witness a high-stakes contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Mamata Banerjee, and the BJP. Election in the State will be held later this month along with Tamil Nadu in two phases, April 23 and April 29.
The counting of votes for all States will be conducted on May 4 The survey by Matrize has projected TMC to win between 140-160 seats, while the BJP is estimated to secure 130-150 seats, indicating a tight electoral battle. Other parties and independents are likely to collectively get around 8 to 16 seats. As per the survey poll telecast on India TV, TMC is likely to get 43 per cent of votes in West Bengal, while the BJP may receive 41 per cent of votes in the State. The others are likely to get 16 per cent of the votes.
According to the survey in Assam, the BJP led NDA is likely to secure a majority. The survey suggests that the alliance is likely to win between 92 and 102 seats. It projects the NDA winning 46 per cent of the total vote share in the State. It further estimates that the Congress-led alliance may garner approximately 36 per cent of the votes. Other parties together are projected to receive nearly 18 per cent of the vote share.
The survey indicates a closely fought contest between the two major fronts in Kerala. The LDF is projected to win between 62 and 68 seats, while the UDF is estimated to secure 67 to 73 seats suggesting a neck-and-neck battle. The BJP likely to get 5 to 8 seats, whereas other smaller parties are expected to win between 0 and 3 seats.
