Nitish's PM dream may vanish into thin air, shows survey

Modi emerges as the most popular choice as PM amongst all leaders across party line

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would win 156 seats with the BJP getting 131 of them, while the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) would win 136 with the Congress pegged to 119, according to an opinion poll by Times Now-CVoter.

The opinion poll predicts that the ‘Third Front’, which includes the Left parties, Samajwadi Party (SP), RJD, TDP, BJD and some other small regional parties, would win 129 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

A new front with the outside support of either the Congress or the BJP holds the edge. Samajwadi supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, Trinamool boss Mamata Banerjee, AIADMK’s chief J Jayalalithaa and BSP’s Mayawati predicted to be crucial in government formation, says the survey.
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ALSO SEE | CNN-IBN and The Hindu Survey
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. Congress holds ground in the south
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The survey found that there was a clearer picture on the choice of Prime Minister as 37.7% respondents opted for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the next premier. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi came second with 17.6% votes, incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was favoured by 6.2%.

If the elections were to happen today, BJP’s Prime ministerial hopeful Modi would add 21 out of 26 seats to the party’s kitty from Gujarat leaving just five for the arch-rival Congress.

The 2014 LS results may throw up a big surprise for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The ruling Janata Dal (United) may win only 11 out of a total of 40 Lok Sabha seats, with the BJP winning 14, and Lalu Prasad's RJD getting 12 seats.  Ramvilas Paswan's Lok Jan Shakti Party, the Congress, and the 'others' may get one berth each. 

In Uttar Pradesh, the opinion poll estimates the SP and the BSP between them winning three-fourths of the 80 seats, with the SP picking up 33 and the BSP 27. The Congress, which won 21 seats in the state in 2009, is projected to win just five in 2014 and the BJP is estimated to gain just a couple of seats to get 12.

The survey claims that the Congress party will suffer a major jolt in Andhra Pradesh. Out of a total of 42 seats, breakaway leader Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress likely to get 14, Telangana Rashtra Samithi may win 11, Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party may win 9, Congress 7 and the Others 1 each. The BJP may not be able to open its account in the state. 

In Delhi, the saffron party may sweep six out of the total seven seats, leaving a single seat for the Congress, predicts the opinion poll. 

In Rajasthan, the BJP is likely to improve its tally by winning 15 out of a total of 25 seats, leaving nine for the Congress and one for the others while in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine may win nine out of 13 seats, leaving four for the Congress.  

Basking in the glory of assembly elections victory, the Congress may win 17 out of 28 in Karnataka. The saffron party will get eight seats while the Janata Dal (Secular) may 3 berths in the state. 

In Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa's AIADMK is projected to sweep, winning 29 of the state's 39 seats.  The DMK, which won 18 seats in 2009 is likely to drop to a mere 5 and the Congress might have to settle for a lone MP. 

There is neck and neck fight in Madhya Pradesh as the latest projections show that the BJP and the Congress may win 16 and 12 out of the 29 seats leaving one for the BSP. That would be a repeat of the 2009 results.

In Chhattisgarh, the ruling BJP may win seven seats while the Congress will settle for four out of a total of 11 Lok Sabha seats.