Two Winners And A Photo Finish
According to the INDIA TODAY-ORG-MARG opinion poll, there will be clear winners in two states, but a tight finish in a third.

The Last Rampage
To offset
J. Jayalalitha's slight edge, a pugnacious M. Karunanidhi gives it his all in what is his final electoral campaign.

The Sixth Sense
A mercurial Mamata Banerjee vs a dependable Buddhadev Bhattacharya. The mismatch leaves the Left Front with a premonition of victory.

Secular Stake
Even as the Church makes a blatant move to play a more political role in the state, the CPI(M) nominates a priest to woo minorities.

One Man Barmy
India's apex social sciences facilitating body is rocked by civil war: the chairman says he is being opposed by both RSS ideologues and leftist academics.

Changing Order
An ageing profile and a frustrated officer corps leads the force to consider VRS and restructuring.

Liquid Asset
The Rs 700-crore industry has attracted many players. Now, purity will decide who stays in business.

Board Of No Control
Tax authorities say the BCCI spends more money on meetings than on matches.

COVER STORY: INDIA TODAY-ORG-MARG POLL

Methodology

The INDIA TODAY-ORG-MARG opinion poll was conducted between April 17 and April 26 in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Using stratified random sampling, 4,300 voters in 18 assembly constituencies of Kerala, and 8,000 voters from 28 assembly segments in both Tamil Nadu and West Bengal were contacted. For the poll conducted by Vivek Kumar, research director of ORG-MARG, the 20,300 sample was selected
ensuring geographical and demographic spread. However,
since the fieldwork was done before the finalisation of
candidates, allowance must be made for a possible 2-3 per cent margin of error. The poll cannot take into account late swings or tactical voting and is at best a snapshot of the situation as it prevailed during the period of the fieldwork. One of the pitfalls of polling is that while it is possible to predict the Lok Sabha polls with a reasonable degree of accuracy, assembly election forecasting is more hazardous. The larger the area, the greater the chance of localised distortions correcting themselves. The problem of constantly changing alliances does not make forecasting any easier, which is why no election is complete till
the votes are actually counted.

	The Nation Who Is Your Choice For Prime Minister?
	Kerala	TN	WB
A.B. Vajpayee	23	58	36
Sonia Gandhi	25	25	12
Jyoti Basu	13	1	11
V.P. Singh	10	1	1
Others	4	3	2
Don't know	25	12	38

NDA Government's Performance

Set against January's INDIA TODAY poll, Vajpayee and his Government's ratings are down in Kerala and up in Tamil Nadu. In Bengal, the prime minister's popularity is intact but not the Government's.

All figures in per cent. The responses may not add up to hundred because of multiple responses or elimination of insignificant categories.

MetroScape

Bond Free
The Savoy in Mussoorie must be the only hotel, apart from the Raffles in Singapore, to have a thing about writers. So, it was quite kismet when publisher Pramod Kapoor of Roli Books and author Namita Gokhale, who has an imprint with him, hosted the Ruskin Bond Festschrift—a Writers' Retreat in honour of that gentle Indian Roald Dahl, Ruskin Bond.
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Looking Glass

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