NEW DELHI: The Indian opposition alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win 275 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha that would enable them to form the new government in the country, according to a poll conducted by the NDTV network and released late Monday.
India is currently holding its general elections in nine phases, the longest election in the country’s history, from April 7 to May 12 to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha.
Any party or coalition needs a minimum of 272 seats in the parliament to be able to form a government. The result of this election will be declared on May 16 before the 15th Lok Sabha completes its constitutional mandate on May 31, 2014.
The BJP, led by the hardliner Narendra Modi, would win 226 seats but it would avoid the need to find new coalition partners after results are announced on May 16. Its existing allies would push it over the 50 per cent threshold, the poll suggested.
The poll suggested that the centre-left Congress party, which leads the current coalition government, would see its tally of seats drop to an all-time low of 92.
All previous polls have forecast that the BJP-led alliance known as the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) would fall short of an overall majority — thus forcing the BJP to seek additional partners among a plethora of regional parties after the six-week voting marathon concludes.
If the BJP-led alliance does fall short of a majority, it is widely expected to try and strike a deal with the West Bengal-based Trinamool party which is forecast to win 30 seats.
Another potential partner, a Tamil Nadu-based party led by former actress Jayalalithaa Jayaram, is slated to get 22 seats.
