Nicola Sturgeon could miss out on a majority in the Scottish Parliament by one seat thanks to Alex Salmond, according to a new opinion poll.
The SNP and the Scottish Greens would make up a majority for independence in the new parliament with Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater's party returning 10 MSPs following the election on May 6.
Attempts by the former First Minister to gain seats with his new Alba Party could deprive the SNP of the majority they want to establish.
Support for the new party would come from SNP voters, the survey finds.
If supporters of Alba moved back to Sturgeon's party then the SNP would have a majority of three in Holyrood.
The Scotsman poll shows there would be 74 pro-independence MSPs in the chamber with 55 pro-UK ones.
Douglas Ross and his Scottish Conservative colleagues would be the second biggest group in the Holyrood chamber with 25 seats, which is down six on the last election in 2016.
Despite a positive start to the campaign from Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour would lose one MSPs from 2016. The poll concluded Labour would receive 18 per cent of the constituency and regional list vote.
They would have 23 MSPs in the new parliament.
The biggest winners in the Savanta ComRes poll for The Scotsman were the Scottish Greens.
By returning 10 MSPs there would be a majority for independence in Edinburgh.
Willie Rennie's Lib Dems also favoured well in the poll. They are set to gain one MSP and return seven with six per cent of the constituency vote and seven per cent of the list vote.
The survey asked 1,007 adults aged 16 and above from across Scotland between April 2 and 7.
Alex Salmond's return to politics would be for nothing if this new poll is to go by. His Alba Party would return no MSPs despite getting three per cent on the regional list vote.
George Galloway's All for Unity party were not asked about in the poll, however other parties chalked up three per cent.
The Scotsman poll also asked people about their views on independence with support now on a knife-edge.
If don't knows are excluded from the numbers then the polls are stuck at 50 per cent each for 'yes' and 'no'.
Simon Cereda, a senior consultant at Savanta ComRes, told The Scotsman: "The latest data from Savanta ComRes for The Scotsman shows how tight it will be for the SNP to achieve their hoped for majority in May.
"Votes lost to Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, even the small numbers we are picking up, may prove costly.
"Elsewhere, despite Anas Sarwar’s leadership making a positive start, Scottish Labour look unlikely at present to translate that into electoral gains. Positive personal approval ratings will mean nothing to Anas Sarwar unless he can stop his party ceding ground in Holyrood."
