Intelligence inputs show it will be tough for Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to retain the state, while the opposition are still keeping their fingers crossed.

A senior Intelligence Bureau officer told rediff.com that Singh is fighting a losing battle and the state is as good as lost.

But the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal are still guarded, thanks largely to Singh's masterstroke of tying up with a religious sect called the Sacha Sauda.

It is said that even BJP workers who were campaigning for the party have decided to abide by the directive of the religious head.

"This can make a difference in our victory margin but not on our chances of winning," BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley, who is in charge of party affairs in the state, said.

Jaitley and Navjot Singh Sidhu even drove to the Sacha Sauda's headquarters to plead with its chief Sant Hazoor Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh Maharaj.

Following the meeting on Monday evening, the sect issued a statement to the media in which it appealed to the voters of Punjab to vote according to their own convenience and not to a particular group or party.