Date:27/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/27/stories/2008112761881000.htm

National

Survey predicts Congress victory in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Congress may return to power for the third consecutive term in Delhi, according to a pre-poll survey which claims that the party will lose its vote share by 4.3 per cent but still manage to pull through.

The Star TV survey said the Congress, which has 47 MLAs now, would get 39 seats in the 70-member Assembly while the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party would improve its tally from 20 to 27.

Its first survey in the last week of October gave the Congress 38 seats and the BJP 29. This survey, conducted between November 15 and 20, claimed that the Congress would lose its vote share by 4.3 per cent 48.13 per cent in 2003.

The BJP is poised to increase its share with 38 per cent votes as against 35.33 per cent last time.

On the popularity chart, Sheila Dikshit is well ahead, with 43 per cent of the respondents favouring her as Chief Minister while the BJP’s chief ministerial nominee V.K. Malhotra got only 16 per cent votes. – PTI