Since the seat was vacated, BN leaders have consistently criticised opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim for wasting funds by forcing a by-election.

However, most Kajang voters polled by a think-tank this month disagreed.

They felt that it is reasonable for a by-election to be held to pave the way for Anwar  to become Selangor menteri besar.

Universiti Malaya Centre of Democracy and Election (Umcedel) found that 59 percent of the 576 polled said “yes” when asked the following question: "Is it reasonable for the Kajang by-election  to be held to allow Anwar to become Selangor MB?"

The results were consistent across the board among all races, education backgrounds and income brackets.

Similarly, most polled said that the by-election is reasonable (56 percent), not a waste of money (53 percent) and should be held to solve Selangor PKR's internal issues (42 percent).

Seemingly agreeing with PKR's campaign message, half of those polled also said that the by-election is required to "save the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government".

Voters also disagreed that PAS was not cooperating with Pakatan to support PKR in the polls.

Presenting the findings in UM, Umcedel chief Redzuan Othman said this showed that grassroots sentiments contradicted what was reported in the mainstream media.

For example, he said, Sinar Harian gave prominent coverage to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's view that Anwar does not qualify to be MB.

He said that this could be due to high internet penetration in Kajang with the internet being the top source of information for those polled.

Twenty-five percent said the they received their information form the Internet, the highest among all media.

However, 25 percent of Malays polled, said they relied on television news for information, the highest among all races.

Redzuan said that based on former Kajang incumbent Lee Chin Cheh's winning majority of close to 7,000, it is fair to say that the seat would be "safe" for PKR.

However, he stressed that it would "not be a walkover for Anwar" as there is still some time to the March 23 polling day.

He added that the Election Commission's decision to hold the polls long after Lee's resignation also puts a dent on the EC's credibility.

This is according to 49 percent of Kajang voters who agreed when asked if this is so.

"This is the first time the polls is close to 60 days after a seat is vacated," he noted.

Lee resigned on Jan 27 while nomination day is in March 11.