Big thumbs down for Manmohan, UPA if polls held now: Survey

The Congress-led UPA 2, which will complete four years in office Wednesday, would fare badly if general elections were to be held now, with inflation, unbridled corruption and economic decline playing a major role, said a survey.

The ABP Ananda- Nielsen survey conducted across 21 states and union territories says the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) would suffer badly in several states of the country including West Bengal, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led led National Democratic Alliance would gain.

According to the survey, the UPA's kitty would come down to just 136 from the current 262 while the NDA's share would swell to 206 from the current 158.

People have also given a thumbs down to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with only 7 percent of them wanting see him in the top post for the third time.

BJP leader and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is the "favourite" with as many as 48 percent of the surveyed wanting him to be the prime minister. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi comes a distant second with 18 percent.

In West Bengal, the Congress would get nine Lok Sabha seats and the Trinamool 14 in case the former allies contested independently with the Left Front getting 18 seats. However, in case of a Congress-Trinamool alliance, they would bag 24 seats with the Left getting 17.

In Uttar Pradesh, Congress's kitty would come down to six from the current 21 while the ruling Samajwadi Party would be the leaders with 24 seats. The biggest gainer though would be the BJP which will see its seat count swell to 23 from the current 10.

The scenario in Maharastra would also be similar with the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coalition's share coming down to 16 seats from the 25 they now have.

In Bihar, the ruling BJP and Nitish Kumar led Janata Dal United alliance would continue to be the leaders with 34 seats while the Congress would manage just three seats.

The survey also says the "charisma" of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who was voted to power third time in arrow would not work this time.