The Hindu : Poll survey predicts sweep for NDA

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 31, 2004

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National

Poll survey predicts sweep for NDA

NEW DELHI, JAN. 30. A ``Mood of the Nation'' poll conducted for India Today by ORG-MARG has predicted a sweep for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the coming Lok Sabha elections giving the ruling coalition 330 to 340 seats in the 545-member House.

The poll conducted in January before the BJP tied up with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu forecasts a slide for the Congress and its allies who are expected to get 105 to 115 seats, 30 less than the tally in the last election. ``Others'' — including the Left Front, the AIADMK, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party — have been projected to get between 95 and 105 seats. The NDA had secured 304 seats in the 1999 elections.

The poll says the Congress is expected to reach its lowest level, 4 per cent below that of the BJP. Ever since India Today began the poll with the exception of January 2001 (the first survey), the percentage vote of the Congress was always a few points above the BJP. Under normal circumstances, it said, the votes of the Opposition move up on the eve of the polls suggesting an anti-incumbency wave.

On the eve of the coming Lok Sabha elections, the votes of the Congress have sunk below that of the ruling party indicating an incumbency advantage for the NDA.

The opinion poll covered 17,649 voters in 98 parliamentary constituencies. — PTI

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