Kolkata, May 10: Barely four days remain for the high-stake rural elections in West Bengal. Newschannel ABP Ananda, in coordination with research group C Voter, has released an opinion poll for the upcoming polls. The pre-election survey, while giving the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) the edge, predicts massive inroads for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The opinion poll is based upon the field research and analysis and conducted between April 10-24. The seats to be contested under the panchayat samitis and gram panchayats have not been taken into consideration.

The BJP, which was almost non-existent in the state's rural politics, is predicted to win 167 zilla parishad seats with a whopping vote share of 24 per cent.

The ruling TMC, however, is expected to consolidate its grip with victory in 538 of the 825 zilla parishad seats, with an electoral share of around 35 per cent.

The Left, the survey claims, will be further decimated, being reduced to only 73 seats, with a vote share of 13 per cent.

The Congress, meanwhile, will win 43 seats with an electoral share of 8 per cent, the opinion poll predicts.

Others (independent candidates and unregistered parties) could win upto 4 seats, with a vote share of 4 per cent, the pre-poll survey adds.

Bengal Panchayat Elections: Opinion Poll Predictions For 825 Zilla Parishad Seats

Party Seats Predicted Vote share
TMC 538 35%
BJP 167 24%
Left Front 73 13%
Congress 43 8%

Important to note is that the TMC has already 'won' 203 of the 825 zilla parishad seats without a contest, as no Opposition candidate entered the fray. However, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the notification of results from those constituencies where the outcome is being determined based on no contest.

The BJP has accused the TMC of using intimidatory tactics to push the Opposition away from the electoral fray. "What kind of democracy it is where Opposition is not able to field a candidate in one-third of the state," said BJP leader Chandra Bose.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 10, 2018 11:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).