An opinion poll conducted by the Cultural and Communication Centre (CCC) along with some Loyola College alumni has predicted that the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance could win 27 to 33 Lok Sabha seats and nine to 11 of the 18 Assembly seats where bypolls will be held this month.
Releasing the findings of the survey at a press conference in Chennai, the CCC coordinator Thirunavukkarasu claimed that the survey was conducted from March 17 to April 3, covering a sample size of 21,464 eligible voters. However, men constituted 64.4% of the sample size though women voters outnumber men in Tamil Nadu.
Soon after the survey findings were released, Loyola College principal issued a statement distancing the college from the survey and said the institution or its departments were in no way involved in conducting such opinion polls.
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According to the poll, the AIADMK-led NDA was expected to win about three to five Lok Sabha seats and two or three Assembly seats. Mr. Thirunavukkarasu claimed that the AMMK, led by TTV Dhinakaran, would win one or two Parliamentary seats and three or four Assembly constituencies.
The survey said clear winners did not emerge in Vellore, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri Villupuram (SC), Tiruppur, Nagapattinam (SC), Ramanathapuram and Tenkasi (SC) Parliamentary constituencies.
When journalists pointed out that in 2014, the CCC opinion poll had given a big lead for the DMK but the party actually failed to open its account in the Lok Sabha, he claimed that the DMK did not take advantage of the people’s sentiment at that time.
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The survey said no clear winners emerged in the assembly constituencies of Hosur and Thiruvarur.