The Hindu : New Delhi News : Exit polls/surveys give Congress-led alliance a slender edge over the others

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 14, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

Exit polls/surveys give Congress-led alliance a slender edge over the others

New Delhi Bureau

– PHOTO: NISSAR AHMAD

VOTERS’ DAY: Dressed in their best burqas, women await their turn to vote at a polling booth near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: The Congress-led alliance held a slight edge over the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies across three exit polls/surveys telecast by television news networks on Wednesday, while the Third Front crosses the three-figure mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

The Star-Nielsen survey shows the Congress leading from the front with a projection of 155 seats for the party, with its alliance notching up a total of 199 seats. The survey predicts the BJP-led alliance bagging 196 seats, with the leading partner, the BJP, projected to get 153 seats.

It gives the Third Front 100 seats, including 28 for the BSP and 25 for the CPI-M, while the nascent Fourth Front, is projected to get 36 seats with the Samajwadi Party bagging 26, the Rashtriya Janata Dal 8 and the Lok Jan Shakti Party 2. The survey gives no seat to the newly formed Praja Rajyam Party in Andhra Pradesh.

CNN-IBN projections based on a national election study with Dainik Bhaskar claimed that the results would be a photo finish, with the Congress and its allies being in the range of 185 to 205 seats. It gives the Congress anywhere between 145 and 160 seats, as against the BJP in the range of 135-150 seats for the party and 165-185 seats including its NDA allies.

The study projects the Third Front bagging 110-130 seats with the Left parties in a 30-40 seat band as against 25-35 seats for the BSP, which it predicts to be emerging as the single-largest party in Uttar Pradesh. Interestingly, it said the Fourth Front could get 25-35 seats, while it includes the BJD in others with a tally of 20-30 seats.

The India TV-C-Voter exit poll projections show the UPA with 189-201 seats. It gives the Congress 149-155, the DMK between 9 and 13, the NCP 12-16 and the Trinamool between 12 and 16.

The poll shows the BJP-led Front getting between 183 and 195 seats. It includes the BJP (140-146), the JD (U) 17-21. The Third Front is projected to bag between 105 and 121 seats.

The break-up shows the Left parties in the range of 31-37 seats, the BSP (24-30), the AIADMK (23-29), the TDP/TRS (13-19) and the BJD (6-8). The poll gives the Praja Rajyam Party anywhere between zero to four seats.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi