DU's DCRC predicts victory for TMC in Bengal, BJP in Assam

New Delhi, Apr 29: The Delhi University''s Developing Countries Research Centre (DCRC) has predicted a victory for the incumbent Trinamool Congress in West Bengal Assembly elections and for the BJP-led alliance in Assam.

Exit polls on Thursday forecast a tight contest between the incumbent Trinamool Congress and the BJP in the high-profile West Bengal assembly polls and put the saffron combine ahead in Assam, while projecting a win for the ruling Left alliance in Kerala and for the DMK-led opposition in Tamil Nadu.

The exit poll numbers were largely a setback for the Congress, which while falling short in Assam and Kerala may also lose its government in the union territory of Puducherry to the opposition alliance of AINRC-BJP-AIADMK.

Exit polls were, however, divided in their forecast for the West Bengal polls, where the BJP ran a high-octane campaign in its bid to capture power in the state for the first time by ending Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee''s 10-year-old rule.

A statement claimed, the Developing Countries Research Centre (DCRC) along with the university''s Department of Political Science conducted a "planned, scientific and purposive" online survey to study the West Bengal and Assam Assembly elections.

"The Centre estimates a victory for the Trinamool Congress in the Assembly elections held in West Bengal and for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Assam polls based on its specific methodology," it said.

The survey covered 11,502 voters from 292 Assemblies of West Bengal from March 21 to April 26 and 3,466 voters from 126 Legislative Assemblies of Assam from March 21 to April 4.

The survey was conducted with the help of about 1000 students and researchers of the Department of Political Science through online questionnaires under the direction of two state coordinators and 10 phase coordinators.

Teachers, students and researchers working in various universities of West Bengal and Assam have also assisted in the completion of the survey, said DCRC''s director Prof Sunil K Choudhary.

The survey has predicted that the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC will get an estimated 149 seats while the BJP is likely to get 123 seats. In the Assam Assembly polls, the survey has predicted that BJP will return to power by winning 99 seats while the Congress-led alliance is likely to win 19 seats.

India Today-Axis My India predicted a neck-and-neck contest in West Bengal, giving the BJP 134-160 and the TMC 130-156 seats. Republic-CNX polls gave the BJP a slight edge by protecting 138-148 seats for the party in the 294-seat assembly and 128-138 to the TMC.

However, Times Now-C Voter predicted a clear majority for the TMC by projecting 158 seats for the party and 115 for the BJP.

Jan Ki Baat exit polls, however, predicted a strong majority for the BJP in West Bengal, giving it 162-185 seats, against 104-121 to the ruling TMC.