Mulayam exiting, say TV pollsters

NEW DELHI: Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav appeared to be staring at a severe depletion in his party’s strength in the UP assembly, if the results of the exit polls commissioned by Times Now and Star News during the fourth phase of elections which saw 46% of voters casting their ballots.

While the two news channels put the BSP ahead in the race for the 57 seats that went to polls on Monday, they were split on the BJP’s performance. While the Star News-AC Nielsen survey showed the saffron outfit suffering marginal losses, the Times Now-Hansa exit poll had the party surging past the other outfits in 19-23 seats.

In the 2002 assembly polls, the BJP had emerged victorious in 14 of the 57 seats that were up for grabs during the fourth phase, while its alliance partner, the JD(U) could win just one seat.

The BSP, on the other hand, was placed third, with 9 seats, while the Congress, with just two seats in its kitty, was a distant fourth. The big winner was, of course, the Samajwadi Party, which put up an impressive show by bagging 31 seats in 2002.

Former union minister Beni Prasad Verma’s decision to break away from the SP appears to have hit Mr Yadav hard. Angry over the perceived unfair treatment meted out to Mr Verma, the Kurmis, it seems, have turned against the SP.

The Star News-AC Nielsen exit poll showed the SP suffering reverses, putting it ahead in 20 seats only. The alliance led by the BJP was placed third, and was shown winning 11 seats, a drop of four. It was the BSP which was the major gainer, seeing its tally swell to 22.

The Times Now-Hansa poll was even more harsh on the SP, which was shown suffering severe reverses. It seat strength was likely to dwindle to 6-10, down from 31. The gainers at its expense were the BSP (21-25) and the BJP (19-23). The Congress was a distant fourth in both these exit polls.