‘BJP to sweep Gujarat once again in Assembly polls’

A pre-poll survey shows Gujarat CM Narendra Modi`s charisma is set to fetch a bigger victory margin for ruling BJP in Assembly Elections in the state.

New Delhi: A pre-poll survey shows Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi`s charisma is set to fetch a bigger victory margin for ruling BJP in Assembly Elections in the state with seven more seats while Congress may win just 51 seats this time.

ABP News-Nielsen Gujarat Opinion Poll shows BJP is likely to win 124 seats, seven more than the 117 it won in the last elections in 2007. Congress is likely to end up at 51, eight short of its tally of 59 in the last polls. Gujarat Assembly has a strength of 182. Former BJP leader Keshubhai Patel`s Gujarat Parivartan Party is likely to get only three seats, according to the opinion poll. Independents may get four seats, including two to NCP. Despite Patel`s influence in Saurashtra-Kutch region, BJP is likely to win 39 of the 54 seats there. The survey also shows around 53 per cent of those polled feel Modi should lead BJP at the Centre in the 2014 General Elections. The opinion poll predicts activist Arvind Kejriwal`s foray into politics has not caught the imagination of the people and they are not likely to make much of an impact electorally with only 15 per cent of the respondents supporting him. PTI