Sonia is people's first choice for PM post: Survey

New Delhi, Jan 23: Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is the most popular choice for the post of Prime Minister as she scores over Mr Manmohan Singh, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee or even her son, Rahul Gandhi, according to a survey.

Ms Gandhi has got an approval rate of 28.3 per cent, about 10 per cent ahead of her nearest rival, Mr Vajpayee, whose rating is placed at 18.5 per cent by the ''State of the Nation'' survey conducted by the CNN-IBN-CSDS-Hindustam Times.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh finished third with 13.1 per cent votes in the survey which covered seven leaders in all for the purpose.

BSP chief Mayawati is placed at the fourth place with a three per cent approval rating, followed by Mr Rahul Gandhi with 2.3 per cent, SP chief and UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav with 2.3 per cent and BJP leader L K Advani, who recently expressed his desire for the post, with 1.8 per cent.

As many as 76 per cent of the 15,000 people covered by the poll said they were satisfied with the UPA government, while 80 per cent were satisfied with Mr Manmohan Singh. About 54 per cent of them felt the UPA government should get another chance to rule.

Offered the choice between UPA and the NDA government, 38 per cent felt UPA is better, while 24 per cent thought the NDA was better. The rest said ''don't know/no opinion.''

UNI