New Delhi: They have ruled Maharashtra for the last 15 years, but the Congress-NCP combine is headed for a steep nose-dive in the general elections, the NDTV's latest opinion poll has confirmed. (
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The two partners are likely to be stopped at only nine seats by the BJP-led NDA juggernaut which is expected to roll to a whopping 37 seats in the state.
The BJP has a five-party alliance in Maharashtra, including its oldest ally the Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Thackeray. His cousin and rival Raj Thackeray is expected to win only one seat.
Maharashtra has for many years seen a direct contest between the two big alliances and so the BJP-Sena make all their gains at the cost of the Congress-NCP, which had won 25 seats in 2009.
For the BJP-Sena, it's a gain of 17 seats, a big contribution to its overall kitty as it attempts to cross the 272 majority mark in the Lok Sabha.