A mega pre-poll survey conducted by popular Tamil TV channel Puthiyathalaimurai has predicted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may win four to six seats in Tamil Nadu in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. According to the survey, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is expected to win a total of 29-31 seats and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) who split up with the BJP recently is expected to win four to six seats. Tamil Nadu has a total of 39 Lok Sabha constituencies. The DMK had won 38 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, losing the seat in Theni to AIADMK’s OP Raveendranath.
The channel is owned by SRM group of educational institutions, whose founder Parivendar Pachamuthu is an MP and president of Indiya Jananayaka Katchi (IJK). IJK is contesting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance with the BJP.
The survey breaks down the 39 constituencies into five zones: South, West, Central, North and Chennai. There are 10 seats in South, nine in West, six in Central, 11 in North, and three in Chennai. Based on the vote share, the BJP is expected to win one constituency each in North zone and Chennai. The saffron party may also win one to two seats in South and West zones.
The DMK is predicted to win eight to nine seats in south and north zones, six seats in the West, five seats in Central, and two constituencies in Chennai. The AIADMK is expected to win a maximum of one seat in the south and central zones, and one to two seats in the West and North.
As per the survey, the BJP’s vote share will increase drastically to 18.48% from a mere 3.71% in 2019. The vote share of the DMK will take a hit from the 53.32% the party got in 2019 and decrease to 38.33%. The AIADMK is expected to get 17.26% vote share, which is close to the 18.72% the party got in 2019.