Washington: The winner of the next state nominating contest in the Democratic push for the White House is anyone's guess, after a poll today suggested a virtual tie between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Obama leads among likely Democratic voters in Indiana, with 41 per cent to Clinton's 38 per cent. However, the Indianapolis Star poll s 4.2 per cent margin of error makes the Illinois senator's edge statistically insignificant.

A large margin of those polled 21 per cent said they were still undecided.

However, Democrats in Indiana favour Obama to win the general election against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, with 49 per cent saying the African-American candidate had the best chance, versus 35 per cent for the former first lady.

The northern state s primary is to be held May 6,on the same day as the southeastern state of North Carolina, where Obama is favoured to win.

However, Indiana is crucial for both hopefuls following Clinton's win in Pennsylvania as the Democrats battle for every delegate in a bid to show party leaders, known as "superdelegates," that they are worthy of their deciding votes.

Indiana voted for President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. His final term expires in January 2009. The poll was conducted April 20-23 and sampled 535 people.

Source : PTI