JOIN USTwo pre-poll surveys on Bihar Assembly elections on Thursday gave contrasting predictions with one giving a comfortable win for the Nitish Kumar-led Grand Alliance while the other giving the impression of a photo finish with a slight edge for BJP-led NDA though it falls short of majority by a whisker.
According to the survey by CNN-IBN-Axis, the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance is likely to romp home comfortably in the coming Bihar Assembly polls relegating the BJP-led combine to a distant second.
This survey gives the JD(U)-RJD-Congress combine 137 (+/-8) seats in the 243-member Assembly, way ahead of the majority mark of 122.
The BJP-led NDA is a distant second at 95 (+/-8) while others – the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Nationalist Congress Party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) – are likely to get 11 (+/-3) seats.
The NDA combine has also the Lok Janshakti Party, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) in its fold.
Nitish-led JD(U) alone is likely to get 64-74 seats out of the 100 it is contesting while Lalu Prasad-led RJD is expected to get 46-50 seats out of 100 seats, it is contesting.
If one goes by the poll survey, the Congress will be the biggest gainer as it is expected to win 19-21 seats, out of 40 seats it is contesting.
The BJP is likely to get 77-87 seats out of 160 seats it is contesting while the LJP is projected to get just 1-3 seats and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP 2-4. The former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi led HAM may get 7-9 seats.
However, the IndiaTV-CVoter survey predicted 119 seats for the NDA, three short of the magic mark.
The alliance led by JD(U) will be a close second with 116 seats. Eight seats may go to 'others', according to the India TV-C Voter survey.
According to an India TV statement, the NDA is projected to get 43 per cent vote share, compared to 41 per cent share of the grand alliance.