New Delhi: Controversial Narendra Modi is still the best bet for the Chief Ministership in a snap Assembly poll, which would benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an opinion poll says.

The poll conducted by TN Sofres Mode for the ‘'The Week’ magazine saw 56 per cent of the respondents considering Modi as the best suited to be Chief Minister followed by Congress' Shankarsinh Vaghela (28 per cent) and BJP's Keshubhai Patel (13 per cent), according to a press release issued by the magazine.

The opinion poll conducted among 342 men and 329 women in Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Junagadh, Jamnagar and Bhuj with "adequate representation" of Hindus and Muslims, said 58 per cent of the respondents were for early polls and an equal number indicating they would vote for BJP.

However, Modi drew flak from 42 per cent of the people for his Muslims ,'inept' handling of the post-Godhra situation. 80 per cent of the Muslims interviewed felt that he had been negligent in controlling violence.

Most Muslims (68 per cent) approved of the dissolution of the Assembly.

PTI