The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Survey predicts 168 seats for DMK front

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Saturday, May 06, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Survey predicts 168 seats for DMK front

Special Correspondent

AIADMK alliance likely to get only 61 seats; 2.1 p.c. vote share for DMDK

CHENNAI: The third phase of a pre-poll survey conducted by Chennai-based Goodwill Communications has predicted that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led alliance will get a vote share of 47.19 per cent.

The alliance headed by the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) will get 39.07 per cent, according to the survey conducted between April 27 and May 3.

The DMK and its allies are likely to bag 168 seats and the AIADMK alliance 61, says Jegath Gaspar Raj, managing director of the organisation. He told reporters on Friday that the vote share of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, led by actor Vijayakant, would be around 2.1 per cent.

"If the DMK alliance does booth management well and a contagion effect builds up, then an additional vote share is possible, which will make its final seats 194, and 38 for the AIADMK alliance," he said.

The shift in favour of the DMK-led alliance was attributed to factors such as the DMK's populist manifesto, the spirit and resilience exhibited by its chief M. Karunanidhi, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's style of electioneering and the DMK leader's announcement that he was open for a coalition.

"Alternative sampling" methodology was adopted in the survey, which had a sample size of 8,685, Mr. Gaspar Raj said. The earlier two phases — conducted on March 27, and between April 9 and 14 among 20,344 voters — had indicated a pro-AIADMK tilt.

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