Bihar: Opinion poll gives edge to NDA over Grand Alliance
New Delhi: The massive turnout of youth at the rallies of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav may be a cause of concern for the ruling the alliance, which is seeking re-election to the power in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
Even though the rallies of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Shushil Kumar Modi may not have the crowd as like Tejashwi, but an opinion poll by Lokniti-CSDS ahead of the first phase of polling has given an edge to NDA over the Grand Alliance.
According to Lokniti-CSDS opinion poll, the NDA-led by BJP and the ruling Janata Dal (United) is expected to win, though with a narrow margin.
The opinion poll is based on a survey conducted by Lokniti-CSDS in Bihar from October 10 to 17. The NDA is expected to win anywhere between 133 and 143 seats with a 38 per cent vote share, according to the opinion poll. The five-party Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) is likely to corner 88-98 seats and 32 per cent vote share.
The opinion poll shows that the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan will give a good fight to NDA.
As per the pollster, Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which has decided to contest the election alone, is expected to win just two to six seats in the coming election.
Apart from the seat share and number of seats, Lokniti and CSDS asked the people of Bihar some other questions too related to the candidates and performance of the JD(U) government under Nitish Kumar.
While Kumar's popularity has gone down from 40 per cent in 2015 to 31 per cent this time around, Lalu's family is favoured by 30 per cent of the people polled. The number has increased from a meagre nine per cent in 2015.
However, 31 per cent of people want that Kumar should be given another chance, while 26 per cent are opposed to it. Another 34 per cent of the poll sample believe that Bihar needs a new leader.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is more popular in Bihar, the poll showed, with 61 per cent of respondents expressing satisfaction with the Modi government.
