More than 60 per cent of Indian voters favour the BJP in the general election, due by May, while less than 20 per cent back the ruling Congress, a major American survey released yesterday said.

"With the Indian parliamentary elections just a weeks away, the Indian public, by a margin of more than three-to-one, would prefer the Hindu-nationalist opposition BJP to lead the next Indian government rather than the Congress, which heads the current left-of-centre governing coalition," Pew Research said.