Who is your favourite judge on Indian Idol 5?

Three judges, one runaway: Salim Merchant opened at 68% support and settled into a steady 54-56% band for nearly all 171 days, a margin so stable the poll barely moved. He closed at 55.3% (1,824 votes) — almost double Sunidhi Chauhan's 29.2% and more than triple Anu Malik's 15.5%.

The margin held across borders, too: India and the United States, the poll's two biggest vote pools, both leaned Salim Merchant, while Sunidhi Chauhan's pockets of strength came from smaller bases like Pakistan and Andhra Pradesh. Anu Malik never built a base large enough to threaten either — men outvoted women for him nearly 4 to 1, the widest gender split of the three.

• Floor, not a lead · Salim Merchant's share never dropped below 54% after day one.
• Two-country base · India and the US, the top vote sources, both favored Salim Merchant.
• Anu Malik's ceiling · Stuck at 15.5% with the most lopsided gender split, 37M to 10F.