DNA Exclusive: Analysis of Punjab's biggest opinion poll

Punjab - one of the richest and strategically significant state in India - is all set to witness a high octane political battle next month. The keenly-watched election will be fought between the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP.

In today's DNA, Zee News Editor-In-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary analyses the outcomes Punjab's biggest-ever opinion poll. While most of the surveys give a rough prediction of any electoral battle, Zee News, in collaboration with Design Boxed, has done state's largest survey with 1,05,000 sample size.

The survey suggests that no party in the state would reach anyway near to the majority mark in 117-seat assembly. The fight in Punjab, unlike other states, is a crowded one - the multi-dimensional battle is being fought between Aam Aadmi Party, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal, with Amarinder Singh's party and BJP being smaller but significant players.

The survey predicts that it will be a hung assembly in the state - with all three contenders - AAP, Congress and SAD - giving tough competition to each other.

The Congress is predicted to win between 35-38 seats in Punjab. SAD is likely to get between 32-35 seats, while Arvind Kejriwal's AAP is expected to win between 36-39 seats. The opinion poll predicts a gloomy picture for BJP which is predicted to win just 4-7 seats, while others are likely to get around 2-4 seats.

Interestingly, incumbent chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi has emerged as the people's top choice (31 per cent) for the chief minister's post in Punjab. He is closely followed by AAP’s Bhagwant Mann who is preferred by 23 per cent people.

All in all, there are atleast five teams that are playing in Punjab's political tournament - and it is unlikely that any of them will emerge as a clear winner. It looks like that atleast two big parties will come together to form the government in the state.

It is important to know that Zee News-DesignBoxed survey has been done with a sample size of 1,05,000 between 5 December, 2021 - 16 January, 2022.