METHODOLOGY

The Mood of the Nation poll is based on a nationwide survey across 19 states. With a sample size of 15,827 interviews among eligible voters, it covers all age groups, gender and the urban- rural divide from 125 parliamentary constituencies. Within each parliamentary constituency, two Assembly constituencies were sampled. House- to- house and face- to- face interviews were carried out. The fieldwork for the study was done from July 6- 20, 2012. It was conducted by The Nielsen Company, a leading market research firm, under the aegis of Umesh Jha, director, Rahul Dixit, manager and Sonal Satish Sharma, client service executive.