BJP to retain MP & Chhattisgarh, wrest Delhi & Rajasthan: Times Now projections

NEW DELHI: BJP will retain power in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, wrest Rajasthan from the Congress and also emerge as the single-largest party in Delhi’s hung assembly, according to the projections by TIMES NOW ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in November.

The TIMES NOW-India TV-CVoter survey, based on a sample of 38,643 randomly selected respondents from all assembly segments in the four states, shows the BJP will manage to retain power in MP and Chhattisgarh, albeit with reduced margins, and the Congress will lose both Rajasthan and Delhi. The results, if they come true, could prove troubling for the Congress going into the 2014 general elections, while being a shot in the arm for the BJP.

The projection for Delhi shows Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party making a promising debut, winning seven seats with a 16% vote-share. The BJP is likely to emerge as the single-largest party with 30 seats, short of the half-way mark. The Congress led by three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is likely to slip to 29 seats, even though 37% of the polled voters still rate Dikshit as the best CM candidate.

The Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot is also set to lose Rajasthan to the BJP, which is expected to win 118 seats, as per the projection. The Congress tally is expected to fall to just 64.

By contrast, BJP, according to the survey, is expected to win 47 seats in Chhattisgarh and 130 in Madhya Pradesh. Congress will improve its tally to 40 in Chhattisgarh and 84 in Madhya Pradesh, but not enough to bring it to power.