New Delhi: An opinion poll has predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may lose power in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, saying the Congress is best placed in Rajasthan, where its state president Sachin Pilot is the first choice of the voters for the chief minister's post.

The ABP News-CVoter survey has predicted that the Congress may return to power in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh after a gap of 15 years and will make a comeback in Rajasthan, where chief minister Vasundhara Raje seems to be struggling against a strong anti-incumbency factor.

The survey has, however, added that a minor swing in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh can turn the tide in the favour of either of the two main parties due to a very small difference between their projected vote shares.

On Saturday, the BJP had expressed confidence that it would register a "record victory" in the upcoming state Assembly elections and retain power in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

Senior BJP leader and law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said the saffron party would secure a record victory on the basis of its hard work and development measures, besides the performance of its governments in the three states.

The opinion poll has said that if the Assembly polls are held now, the Congress is likely to win 142 seats in Rajasthan against the BJP's 56.

Pilot leads Raje as the popular choice for the chief minister's post with 36% voters preferring him, while the latter is the first choice for 27%.

Former chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot enjoys the backing of 24% voters.

The survey has predicted 122 seats for the Congress in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly and 47 seats for the Opposition party in the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly.

The BJP has been projected to bag 108 and 40 seats in these two states respectively.

However, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh are the first choice of the voters for the hot seat, despite anti-incumbency sentiments against their governments.