An opinion poll conducted by a private news channel and a survey agency has predicted the return of the Modi government, while noting the opposition INDIA bloc "could do better" than the BJP in states like Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra and Telangana.
According to the survey conducted by the ABP News and C-Voter, the BJP-led NDA would get around 295-335 seats, while the opposition Congress and its INDIA allies are projected to get 165-205 seats.
"ABP News-CVoter Opinion Poll, the first before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, puts the NDA comfortably ahead. I.N.D.I.A. could do better than the BJP in states like Bihar, Punjab and Maharashtra, apart from South," they said in a statement.
"ABP News-C Voter opinion poll predicts return of the Modi government in 2024, but South remains a challenge for the NDA (National Democratic Alliance)," it said.
The survey findings and projections are based on C-Voter Opinion Poll CATI interviews (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing), conducted from December 15 to December 21 among 18-plus adults statewide, "all confirmed voters". The sample size of the survey, covering 543 seats, was 13,115, the statement added.
"Zone-wise projections show BJP/NDA bagging 80-90 seats out of 153 in east zone, the highest 150-160 seats out of 180 in the north zone, 45-55 out of 78 in the west zone, and 20-30 out of 132 in the south zone," the ABP News-CVoter said.
"The South is the only zone where the BJP/NDA is behind, with the Congress/I.N.D.I.A projected to win 70-80 seats. In the other three zones, the INC(Congress)/I.N.D.I.A is projected to get 50-60, 20-30, and 25-35 in the east, north, and west, respectively," it added.
The ABP News-CVoter said that according to the survey the NDA appears to be "comfortably ahead" with all the BJP-ruled states, such as Madhya Pradesh (27-29), Chhattisgarh (9-11), Rajasthan (23-25), and Uttar Pradesh (73-75), looking to vote for its candidates.
"In Congress-ruled Karnataka too, the BJP is projected to win 22-24 seats with a vote share of 52 per cent against the Congress' 4-6 seats and 43 per cent vote share. In MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the Opposition alliance is projected to get only 0-2 seats each," the ABP News-CVoter added.
According to the opinion poll, the states where the Congress and opposition INDIA bloc are ahead are Telangana (9-11 seats), Bihar (21-23) and Maharashtra (26-28). In Punjab, the Congress is projected to bag 5-7 Lok Sabha seats while the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may get 4-6 seats.
"In West Bengal, where the I.N.D.I.A seat share will be a matter of debate, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) could get 23-25 seats and Congress and Left together 0-2, against the BJP's 16-18, if the elections are held now," the ABP News-CVoter said.
"On the question of how much satisfied people were with the work of the current Prime Minister Minister Modi, a total of 47.2 per cent people across India said they were very much satisfied with PM Narendra Modi's work, while 30.2 per cent said they were satisfied to some extent and 21.3 per cent said they were not at all satisfied," it said.
The ABP News-CVoter opinion poll also found that a majority of the respondents think the opposition parties’ INDIA block "will not remain united till the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," it added.