UP heading for three-way split after phase III polling: exit poll
New Delhi, Apr 18 (UNI) Uttar Pradesh could be heading for a three-way split between the Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP), the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) and the Samajwadi Party(SP) after today's third phase of polling for the assembly elections in the state, an exit poll said today.
After the third phase of polling for 57 seats, mostly in the Rohilkhand region, considered the stronghold of the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, NDTV predicted 120-130 seats for the BSP, 110-120 for the BJP, 105-115 for the SP and 34-45 for the Congress.
The BSP appears to have surged ahead of the BJP and the SP with the exit poll giving the Mayawati-led party 120 to 130 seats as compared to 98 seats it won in the 2002 elections. In the 2002 assembly elections, the BSP had secured 98 seats, the BJP 107 seats, the SP 145 seats and the Congress 25 seats.
As for the 57 seats which were up for grabs in the third phase of polling, NDTV gave 15-19 seats to the BSP, 20-24 seats to the BJP, 10-14 seats to the SP and 4-8 seats to the Congress. In the 2002 polls, the BSP, the SP, the BJP and the Congress had won 9 seats, 26 seats, 13 seats and 4 seats respectively.
It said the BJP had further improved its position while the SP would emerge as the number three party in the Muslim-dominated areas.
However, India TV gave the SP 23-27 seats, the BJP 13-17 seats, the SP 23-27 seats and the Congress 2-6 seats.
NDTV's exit poll, based on a sample size of 10,641 voters, predicted a gain of 27.6 per cent for the BJP, 24.5 per cent for the BSP, 23.5 per cent for the SP and 15.1 per cent for the Congress.
UNI