NDTV's opinion polls shows a spectacular win for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, the state where it has fielded its prime ministerial candidate,
Narendra Modi.
The BJP is expected to win 53 of the state's 80 seats, compared to just 10 in the 2009 election. Uttar Pradesh is India's most politically vital state and holds the key to power at the Centre. (
Watch: India's biggest opinion poll with Prannoy Roy)
The BJP's best performance in UP till now is 57 seats in 1998.
The party has tried to rebuild a formidable coalition of upper caste and backward caste voters that won it big rewards in the 1990s. The poll also shows that the BJP may have struck gold with its strategy of fielding big leaders in every region of UP.
The poll predicts the biggest losses for the Congress and its ally, the Rashtriya Lok Dal of Ajit Singh. They are expected to crash to 7 from 26 seats last time. (
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The BJP's gains also come at a heavy cost to the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
The Samajwadi party, which won the most seats in UP in 2009 and has been governing the state since 102, is set to win just 13 this time, down 10 seats. The party seems set to face the impact of the September Muzaffarnagar riots, and a less than impressive record of governance.