New survey predicts 'spectacular BJP win' NDA 259+

The BJP and its allies are set to bag 259 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, placing them far ahead of the Congress-led UPA that is projected to win 123 seats, according to a survey released on Friday.

The BJP was projected to bag 214 seats and the Congress 104, the poll by NDTV showed.
It projected a "spectacular win" for the BJP in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, where the party has fielded its prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi.

The BJP is expected to win 53 of the state's 80 seats, compared to just 10 in the 2009 polls.

Uttar Pradesh holds the key to power at the Centre and the BJP's best performance so far in the state was in the 1998 polls, when it bagged 57 seats.

BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is delivering his party its biggest electoral success ever while the Congress stares at possibly its worst result in the coming elections, according to two opinion poll

According to a pre-poll survey by NDTV, the BJP and its allies are expected to win 259 seats -this is the highest any recent poll has given the NDA. The BJP itself is slated to win 214 seats. The Congress and its allies are estimated to win 123 seats. The NDA's vote share is 32.9% while the UPA's vote share is 26.9%.

The game-changer, according to NDTV, is UP, where the BJP has been a big gainer. The poll has given the party and its allies 53 out of 80 seats in the state. The SP is estimated to win 13 seats while both the Congress and the BSP are expected to bag 7 seats each.

The CNN-IBN-The Week survey has given the NDA 234-246 seats, with the BJP bagging between 206 and 218. The Congress is predicted to win 94-106 seats, with the UPA tally hovering between 111 and 123. 

BJP to win 5-7 lok Sabha seats in Delhi, jolt for AAP: Survey

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is all set face humiliating defeat in Delhi in the Lok Sabha Elections 2014, according to a poll survey.

A latest poll survey conducted by a news channel claims that Arvind Kejriwal's charm has received massive hit after his exit from the Delhi government. The survey predicts massive Modi wave in Delhi, which is certainly a bad news for Aam Aadmi Party. After impressive performance in Delhi Assembly elections, AAP's popularity has witnessed massive downfall.

The survey predicts that Narendra Modi-led BJP is expected to win 5-7 seats while AAP may win two seats while Congress is likely to get just one in the Lok Sabha polls.

Survey claims that BJP may get 41 percent votes while AAP and Congress are expected to bag 28 and 23 percent votes in the upcoming general elections.

The survey further says, around 44 percent voters want to see Modi as PM of India while 24 percent favour Kejriwal for the top post. Just 19 percent voters want to see Rahul Gandhi as the next Prime Minister. 

In the survey, around 1188 people across the 40 assembly seats shared their opinion.

Delhi's 38 percent youth voters favour BJP while 31 percent align with Kejriwal.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Congress had won all the seven seats and the vote percent was 53.

In the last survey conducted in December 2013, BJP was expected to get 33 percent vote.

The voting for Delhi Lok Sabha seats will be held on April 10, 2014.

Lok Sabha polls 2014: NDA to get 234-246 seats, says survey Read more at:

NEW DELHI: As the opinion polls wind up before the real polling begins on Monday, the pollsters have promised a victory for BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and a smooth takeover of the next government by Narendra Modi. A survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) on Friday claimed that NDA minus Telugu Desam Party will win 246 seats.

TDP, whose tie-up with BJP was not clinched till the survey was done, is expected to win at the most 19 seats, thus taking the total NDA tally to 265, just seven short of the simple majority of 272.
The survey predicts a windfall of 218 seats for BJP, over 35 seats more than its previous best of 182 in 1998 and 1999.

The best that Congress can hope for is just 106 seats, 100 seats less than its tally in 2009. The ruling UPA as a whole is expected to win just 123 seats, a drastic fall from a high of 228.

The pollsters seem to have absolute clarity about the leadership too. They say Modi has an approval rating of 34% while just 15% have polled for Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.

While Congress is expected to lose votes across rural and urban India, BJP is shown to surge in both the segments taking its vote share to a high of 35%, nearly double the 18.8% it garnered in the 2009 elections. Corruption, according to the survey, remains the biggest issue with 73% respondents feeling that UPA is vesry corrupt.

Narendra Modi blogs his vision for Varanasi

VARANASI: BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who is contesting Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi, has outlined his priorities for the city in a recent blog.

He has promised to eliminate mafia, revival of cottage, handicraft and handloom industries besides Varanasi's transformation into the country's intellectual capital. 

"Today, Varanasi is suffering because of poor roads, violence, traffic-jams and short supply of electricity and water. A big reason for these problems is the apathetic attitude of the Central and state governments," wrote Modi. 

"The interference of mafias and thekedars in the government departments is also one of the reasons. I promise that from Centre to Varanasi, the domination of mafias involved in looting public funds will be entirely eliminated." 

He said despite being a major tourist attraction and a hub of handicrafts and arts, unemployment has emerged as a major problem in Varanasi. 

"Banarasi Paan and Banarasi saree, which were the biggest trend of city market, are now fighting for their survival. We could not create a new brand for Banaras and the old ones are also losing their sheen," he said. 

"The need of the hour is to restore the rich heritage of Varanasi. The cottage, handicrafts and handloom industries must be revived to generate employment locally. It will also bring back the lost prestige of the city. All this would not be possible without better civic amenities." 

He said he would develop Kashi as the centre of cultural and intellectual activities from where the stream of knowledge would flow uninterrupted. 

"The world famous educational institutions, including Banaras Hindu University and Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, require constant care and up gradation because they are important to ignite the light of knowledge in the entire Purvanchal, including Bhojpuri region." 

He cited the city's spiritual, religious and cultural importance. "Maa Ganga (river Ganga) is struggling for existence. Even after spending thousands of crores the condition of the river could not be improved." 

Modi wrote Varanasi is not only regarded as the most pious city of the Hindu culture, but also holds vital importance in Jainism and Buddhism. "It was Varanasi where the Shehnaai of Bharat Ratna Bismillah Khan kept echoing the Hindu-Muslim unity." 

He blamed the UPA government for poor governance and added it has pushed India back by decades. Modi recalled the BJP-led NDA government "when the think-tanks and philosophers around the world pronounced that the 21st Century would belong to India". He said a decade of Congress-led UPA rule left the story of the prospering India incomplete. 

"The image of the country's politics reflects in Varanasi, so let us begin from here," he said. "It is here from where the powerful stream of Ganga turns directions. Thus, the start of the biggest change will also begin from Varanasi." 

Modi hoped the country would again move towards good governance and this message initiated from the Varanasi will light a new hope in the entire country. "Varanasi shall set in motion of the wheels of change that will take India on the path of good governance." 

The local BJP unit has circulated the printed version of the blog, which was written on Wednesday. 

Rupee may surge 35% to 40 per dollar if Modi becomes Prime Minister, Citigroup's Adam Gilmour says

A victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party in next month's general elections is seen powering the rupee to highs last reached in 2008.

Polls show the BJP, which has projected Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, is poised to oust the incumbent Congress party, a result that would be a "catalyst" for a long-term advance in the rupee toward 40 to 45 per dollar, from 61.19 on March 14, according to Adam Gilmour, Citigroup's head of Asia-Pacific currency and derivatives sales. A weak coalition would be the "worst-case" outcome, he said, and might send the currency sliding beyond August's record low of 68.83.

"The market view is that if Modi gets in, it will be a game-changer," Gilmour said in an interview. "We always take politics with a pinch of salt, with the rare exceptions like India, where it's going to really make a difference.
The rupee lost about 28% of its value from the end of 2010 through last year, making it the worst performer among 12 Asian currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

The declines reversed when India raised import tariffs on gold, helping narrow the shortfall in the broadest measure of trade to a four-year low, and RBI governor Raghuram Rajan increased interest rates to curb Asia's fastest inflation. The rupee has rebounded about 13% from its August 28, 2013 record, and remained little changed even during the rout in emerging-market assets earlier this year.

A jump in the rupee to as high as 40 per dollar would represent a 35% rally in India's currency from the end of last week, and send it to the strongest level since April 2008. Gilmour's prediction, for which he didn't give a timeframe, is 5 rupees higher than the most bullish forecaster in a Bloomberg survey of more than 30 strategists, whose median estimate foresees the currency at 63 on December 31 and at 58.50 by the end of 2016. bloomberg

It’s the time for change. It’s the time to choose a stable government.

From controlling rising prices and eliminating corruption to creating real jobs and ensuring effective and decisive leadership, the time has come to bring in the change.

Prosperity comes only when Lotus Blooms

The founder of Art of Living foundation and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Wednesday asked his followers to vote for change and a graft-free nation.

Reminding his followers of the intrinsic relationship between wealth and the lotus in Hindu mythology, the spiritual leader urged them to vote for BJP.

“Lakshmi kamal pe hi baith ke aati hai (The goddess of wealth rides only on lotus),” Sri Sri said addressing a gathering in Delhi.

He said that condition of our country is very bad and people should vote for change.

Expressing concern over the state of India’s economy and politics, he said, “Desh ventilator pe hai. Isko bachana hai. (The country is on a ventilator. We must save it)”

Sri Sri has earlier endorsed the candidature of BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for the top job. He praised the impressive developmental work of Gujarat Chief Minister Modi in his State and asked the people to vote for an experienced party.