ABP News-CICERO snap poll: Akhilesh top choice for CM; BJP, BSP major gainers from SP family feud

NEW DELHI: Even after a bitter power struggle and turf war in the Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav is still standing tall and has emerged as the most favored chief minister candidate for the state assembly elections due early next year. In an ABP News-CICERO snap poll, conducted between 26th to 28th August, 31 percent of the respondents preferred Akhilesh Yadav as the next chief minister of the state, whereas the BSP supremo Mayawati received the approval of 27 percent. BJP hardliner MP Yogi Adityanath was the choice of 24 percent. Congress' chief ministerial face Shiela Dixit, SP supremo Mulayam Singh and BJP UP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya were the preference of mere 2 percent respondents each for the top job. As the Samajwadi Party family feud is now out in open, 30 percent of the respondents believed Mulayam's image has suffered the most due to the power tussle. While 16 percent said that the image of Akhilesh Yadav, who recently sacked his uncle and UP minister Shivpal Yadav from his cabinet dividing the state's first family into two groups, has been dented because of the infighting. 43 percent felt the entire episode has hurt the public image of both the leaders. The BJP, which described the Yadav family fued  as a 'high voltage drama' aimed at keeping the media and public attention away from the "failures" of CM Akhilesh, appeared to be the major gainer from the spat. 39 percent of the respondents maintained the saffron party will get the benefit of the SP infight while 29 percent said the clash will help BSP to make a comeback in the state after five years. The cracks in SP will benefit Congress' sinking ship, said mere 6 percent of the respondents. Vast majority of the respondents were of the opinion that Akhilesh should continue with the Samajwadi Party. When asked, should Akhilesh form a new party and contest elections? 55 percent said, "No". However, 19 percent still held that UP CM should float a new party for upcoming elections. Akhilesh, Shivpal and the other SP leaders have always maintained that Mulayam is the last authority in the party and their supreme leader. In ABP News-CICERO snap poll, 66 percent of the respondents believed the same. 14 percent were in the favor of Amar Singh and 9 percent chose Shivpal, when asked who should lead the current SP? While Akhilesh, addressing a party meeting last month, had openly targeted party's Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh for the rift saying he's trying to create divisions within Yadav family using various machinations but the respondants felt otherwise. 43 percent believed Shivpal to be behind the family feud while 15 percent held on to the CM's view that Amar Singh is responsible for this division. 3 percent asserted that Mulayam's cousin and former SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who was expelled from the party for six years, is the brain behind the divide.