New Delhi: The BJP-led NDA alliance is running neck-and-neck with the 'grand alliance' forged by RJD, Janata Dal(U) and Congress in the Bihar election stakes, according to the latest India TV-CVoter opinion poll survey, results of which were telecast tonight.
The NDA is projected to win within a range of 109-125 seats, while the Nitish-Lalu-Congress alliance is projected to win in the range of 104-120 seats in the 243-seat assembly, says the opinion poll. The magic number for any alliance to win a simple majority is 122.
'Others' have been projected to win 10-18 seats, says the poll.
C-Voter said, the projections are based on a methodology based on random stratified sample of 7,786 interviews covering all 243 segments in Bihar during the second and third weeks of September. Margin of error is plus/minus 3 per cent at state level and plus/minus 5 pc at regional level, C-Voter said.
In the 2010 Bihar assembly polls, the then BJP-JD(U) alliance had won 206 seats, while Lalu Prasad's RJD-led alliance with Paswan could win only 25 seats. However, during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA comprising BJP, Ramvilas Paswan's LJP and Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP won in 174 assembly segments, while the Lalu-Nitish combine could win only in 51 assembly segments in the face of Modi wave.
On the question as to who would be the best chief minister for Bihar, 46.8 pc respondents favoured the present CM Nitish Kumar, while 16 pc preferred BJP leader Sushil Modi, 6.7 pc preferred former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi and 5.4 pc preferred BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain.
Vote percentage wise, Lalu-Nitish-Congress combine is projected to win 42 pc votes this time, while the NDA is projected to win 43 pc votes, with 15 pc votes going to 'others'.
61.2 per cent respondents said they wanted change in the state, while 55.8 pc wanted the present chief minister should be changed. A whopping 72.9 pc respondents were unhappy with their present MLAs and wanted change, while only 27.8 pc wanted change at the Centre.
58.8 pc respondents felt the NDA can solve their problems in a better manner, while 33.1 pc opted for JDU-RJD-Congress combine.
