Mood of the Nation: BJP may fall short of 27 seats to reach magic number

New Delhi, Aug 20: The biannual India Today Group-Karvy Insights Mood of the Nation (MOTN) opinion poll predicted tough time for BJP and the NDA in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The opinion poll released on August 18, predicted that comfortable lead of 298 seats the BJP enjoyed in the July 2017 poll dwindled to 245, 27 short of the 272 needed for a majority on its own.

The poll also indicates that, along with its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the BJP will just about retain power with a tally of 281 seats, making the party vulnerable to the pulls and pressures of coalition partners.

Also, the opinion predicted that the upcoming general election may result into hung parliament if opposition parties (mainly, Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Janata Dal-Secular ) come together to form a mahagathbandhan. The opposition coalition could win as many as 224 seats and the NDA's tally will be down to 228 seats, making it a hung Parliament.

The BJP's number would drop to 194 seats and though it will still be the single-largest party, it will be heavily dependent on its allies and breakaway parties to form a government.