BJP-NDA to retain power in Assam: Pre-poll survey

NewsBharati    25-Mar-2021
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Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The BJP is likely to come back to power in Assam

New Delhi, Mar 25: As the electioneering for the first phase of assembly election in Assam ends today, a pre-poll survey predicted the return of the BJP-NDA in Assam. Presently, the BJP-NDA is the ruling dispensation in Assam headed by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

Ruling out the effect of the anti-incumbency factor, the C-Voter opinion poll conducted by Times Now projected the victory of the BJP-NDA in the state.

Assam will have three-phase assembly elections beginning on March 27. The second phase will be on April 1 and the third on April 6. Results will be announced on May 2.

There seems to be three-cornered contest between the BJP-NDA, UPA and the newly floated Raijor Dal. The survey predicted that the BJP will retain the power but its majority would be thinned this time. The major issue is the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The survey was based on issues like- the silence of NDA over the CAA; the ‘Grand alliance’ for consolidating the Muslim vote bank; is CAA a threat to the Assamese language and culture and whether a vote for AIUDF is a vote for illegal immigration.

The pre-poll survey gave BJP-NDA 69 seats in the 126 member assembly while the UPA would be the runners-up with 56 seats, according to the survey. The projected seat share for BJP-NDA is 63-73, UPA 52-60 and 0-4 seats for others.

BJP’s silence on the CAA issue would help it gain the majority believed 45% voters while 25% said that it would harm its poll prospects.

Surprisingly, 50% voters believed that CAA is a threat to the Assamese language and culture against 31%.

44% respondents agreed to Amit Shah’s observation that each vote for the AIUDF would be a vote in support of infiltrators while 38% rejected this idea.

A mixed response was received from the respondents on asking Congress-Mahajot's alliance for consolidating the Muslim vote bank, 39.7 per cent said yes, a slightly larger 41.6 per cent said no and 18.7 per cent of the respondents were not sure of it.

The three phased Assam Assembly elections is set to be held from March 27 where 47 constituencies will be going to polls, in the second phase slated on April 1, 39 constituencies will be going to polls, whereas, in the third phase the remaining 40 constituencies will be going to polls on April 6. The results will be declared on May 2.