The ongoing elections to Telangana assembly have created tense moments to all political parties in the state, as it has become extremely difficult for them to read the pulse of the voters.
The pre-election surveys being conducted by various agencies are adding to the confusion as they are predicting different outcomes.
While some surveys have predicted that the TRS would retain power with just around the absolute majority, others say the Maha Kootami will win comfortable majority restricting the TRS to less than 40 seats.
Amidst all these, the latest announcement by former Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal, who has earned the title of Andhra Octopus for his near accurate election predictions in the past, that independents will win eight to 10 seats, created tension in the main political rivals, indicating that the Telangana elections are heading towards a photo finish.
But not many people are aware that, as Lagadapati has not come out in the open, his survey has also predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party is going to spring surprises in the Telangana elections.
According to sources, Lagadapati has predicted that the BJP will also win eight seats – improving its tally from five seats last year.
“The BJP won all its five seats in Hyderabad, but this time it might lose a couple of seats in the city. But in rest of Telangana, it will improve and take the total tally to eight,” sources quoting his survey said.
It would mean the TRS and the Maha Kootami would be fighting only in 104 seats, if one were to take out seven seats of the MIM and eight of the BJP.
If the TRS falls short of a few seats of majority, it will be interesting to see whether party president K Chandrasekhar Rao will take the support of the BJP or the MIM to form the next government.
