Once ruled out by many political commentators, the Congress party has closed gap in Assam with strong ratings according to an opinion poll data.
While the poll data suggested ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to retain power in Assam, as per the Times Now C-Voter Opinion Poll Wave 4 data released on March 24, the Congress and its allies will close the gap winning 56 of the 126 seats.
In Assam, the Congress-led grand alliance is winning 56 seats, narrowing the gap with the BJP-led NDA which is expected to win 69 seats. The latest opinion poll data said that the Congress is now at 41.1 per cent vote share while the BJP is winning the state with 45 per cent vote share.
While the Congress seems to have gained grounds due to its strategic alliance with partners like AIUDF and BPF, the party being unable to name a strong and popular leader as its CM candidate may have hurt its prospects.
The opinion poll said that with chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal still remains the most favourite candidate for the top post. Sonowal was preferred by 46.2 per cent respondents.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, who is not contesting the Assam assembly elections, got 25.2 per cent votes as preferred candidate for the CM’s post.
Other grand alliance leaders like Ripun Bora (2.4 per cent), Hagrama Mohilary (3.8 per cent), Badruddin Ajmal (5.7 per cent) failed to get better approval.
Interestingly Assam minister and senior BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma got 13 per cent votes in the opinion poll.
