Kerala is heading towards a closely fought Assembly election, with the bipolar contest between the Congress-led UDF and the communist LDF alliance set to resume, a pre-poll survey claimed. Inflation, unemployment, and corruption were the top three issues that most Keralites believe are going to influence the outcome of the upcoming polls, it said.
The opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) alliance currently holds a slender edge over the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), the Network 18 Vote Vibe opinion polls said. In the first phase, the poll had claimed that the LDF was set to win 68 to 74 seats, while the UDF could win 64 to 70 seats. In the second phase, however, the poll has predicted that the UDF would win 71 to 77 seats, with the LDF likely to win 64 to 70 seats.
The BJP-led NDA could reopen its account in the Kerala Legislatibe Assebly as the poll claimed they have a chance of winning one to six seats. The Congress and the IUML are set to make a tremendous comeback in central and northern Kerala, while the LDF will remain a force to be reckoned with in the southern districts. With the NDA also in the mix if things, the result is most likely to be a close call.
In northern Kerala, the incumbent LDF could win 18 to 20 seats, while the UDF could win 28 to 30 seats. The NDA is unlikely to win any seats there. In central Kerala, the race is tighter, as the LDF could win 23 to 25 seats, while the UDF could win 27 to 29 seats. The Network 18 Vote Vibe opinion poll is predicting the NDA to win upto two seats here. In southern Kerala, the LDF could bag 23 to 25 constituencies against a UDF tally of 12 to 14. The NDA could win up to three seats in the region.
Earlier, the Manorama News-VMR Mega Election Survey had said that the Congress-led UDF will emerge as front-runners in the Assembly elections, winning between 69 and 81 seats in the 140-seat Assembly. The Left Front is expected to win 57 to 69 seats.
The NDA is predicted to win one to five seats. The survey was conducted using approximately 90,000 samples across all 140 Assembly constituencies.