Edge for Congress in Punjab, Goa, neck-and-neck in Uttarakhand; edge for BJP in Manipur: Opinion poll

According to the polls, Uttarakhand and Manipur are heading for a hung assembly while Congress may scrape through in Goa

An opinion poll telecast on Sunday predicted that Congress has an upper hand in Punjab and Goa while it is a neck-and-neck fight between Congress and BJP in Uttarakhand while BJP has an edge in Manipur.

According to the India TV-Ground Zero Research Team Opinion Poll, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur are heading for a hung assembly while Congress may scrape through in Goa though it can also return an Assembly where no single party or coalition can cross the majority-mark.

In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, Congress is predicted to win 50-52 seats, which is 7-9 seats less than the majority mark. Contrary to popular perception, the survey puts Akali Dal (30-32 seats) ahead of AAP (29-31) in Punjab while the BJP-Amarinder Singh coalition may win just 1-3 seats.

Read | Opinion polls predict BJP's return, a stronger SP in UP

Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is the popular choice for Chief Ministership with 37% approval rate followed by AAP chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann (27%) and Akali Dal's Sukhbir Badal 15%. Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is placing himself as Congress face, is at a distant fourth with 9% votes.

Congress coalition is likely to win 17-21 seats in 40 member Goa Assembly. In a best case scenario of 21 MLAs, it can form the government on its own while BJP is predicted to win 14-18 seats. Trinamool Congress alliance may win 2-4 seats while AAP may win up to two seats and 'others' one.

Though the BJP is down as per the survey, its Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has the best approval rate with 27% followed by Congress' Digambar Kamat 17%, BJP Minister Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane 12% and Goa Forward Party leader Vijai Sardesai 8%.

Uttarakhand is likely to throw a cliffhanger sort of contest where both the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress are in neck-and-neck race with both predicted to win 33-35 seats in an Assembly of 70. AAP may win one while others may get two.

Congress' Harish Rawat leads the race for Chief minister garnering 44% votes in the survey but closely followed by the present Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of BJP getting 42%. BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni got an approval rate of just 3%.

In Manipur, BJP may fall short of the magic number of 31 in a House of 60. The saffron party is predicted to win 26-30 seats while Congress may get to 22-26. NPF may get 3-7 seats while NPP may get 1-3 seats.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh leads the chief ministerial race with 37% while Congress rival Okram Ibobi Singh got 34% approval rate.

India TV-Ground Zero Research Team Opinion Poll

Punjab: 117 seats

Cong: 50-52 (45% votes)

Akali Dal: 30-32 (22%)

AAP: 29-31 (28%)

BJP+: 1-3 (5%)

Others: 1-3 (9%)

Goa: 40 seats

Cong+: 17-21 (35%)

BJP: 14-18 (31%)

TMC+: 2-4 (12%)

AAP: 0-2 (10%)

Others: 0-1 (12%)

Uttarakhand: 70 seats

Cong: 33-35 (46%)

BJP: 33-35 (45%)

AAP: 0-1 (4%)

Others: 0-2 (3%)

Manipur: 60 seats

BJP: 26-30 (39%)

Cong: 22-26 (37%)

NPF: 3-7 (11%)

NPP: 1-3 (4%)

Others: 0-2 (9%)

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