The British Columbia Liberal Party would be reduced to nine seats in the legislature if the provincial election were held today, according to a Forum Research poll.

"The NDP would come close to shutting out the opposition . . . capturing 75 out of 85 seats," said a summary of the poll. The Liberals would take nine of the remaining seats and Independent Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington would keep hers, it said.

The poll put support for the NDP at 47 percent with the BC Liberals and BC Conservatives tied at 21 percent each and the BC Green Party at nine percent.

That result suggests the NDP has enough support to win even without Liberals and Conservatives splitting the centre-right vote, since the two parties' combined result isn't enough to pass the NDP.

Forum Research used an interactive voice response telephone system to survey 1063 randomly selected British Columbians who are 18 or older on March 19, 2012. The sample is considered accurate within plus or minus three percent, 19 times out of 20.

NDP Leader Adrian Dix said recent polls from different companies have shown varied results, though most have given his party a solid lead. "Any poll taken this far before an election is highly problematic," he said.

The next election is scheduled for May 14, 2013.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Find him on Twitter or reach him here.