By IANS,
New Delhi : The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will make major gains in Uttar Pradesh, bagging around 40 seats, while the Samajwadi Party will lose in a big way in the Lok Sabha polls, according to an opinion poll by TV news channel NDTV.
The survey said the BSP, which won 19 Lok Sabha seats in the 2004 polls, is likely to get 35-40 seats in the 2009 elections. The Samajwadi Party’s strength is likely to be reduced to 20 from the 38 it won in 2004.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress would also lose seats in the state. The BJP would get 10, one down from the 11 it has, and the Congress’ strength would be reduced to eight from 10.
The survey has also given two seats to others. Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats.
The survey conducted among 8,933 people in the state, said BSP leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati emerged as the most popular leader in the state with 40 percent people in favour of her. Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav trailed with 32 percent.
BJP president Rajnath Singh has the support of 18 percent people surveyed.
The majority in the state thinks that Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s presence in Uttar Pradesh will lead to the party’s revival in the state.
Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh will be held in five phases starting April 16.