As the polling for the municipal elections across Telangana concluded at 5 pm on Wednesday with a brisk voter turnout, survey agencies quickly came out with exit polls.
A couple of survey agencies disclosed their exit poll results indicating that the ruling Congress party is poised to assert its dominance in the civic elections held for 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations across Telangana.
The survey conducted by People’s Pulse predicted a strong performance by the Congress in several municipal corporations, including Mancherial, Ramagundam, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, and Kothagudem, where the party is expected to emerge victorious.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, is projected to perform strongly in northern Telangana.
The exit poll indicates that the BJP is likely to capture Karimnagar and Nizamabad municipal corporations and may emerge as the single largest party in both.
Meanwhile, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is expected to play a crucial “kingmaker” role in corporations such as Nizamabad, Karimnagar, and Mahabubnagar, potentially influencing the formation of power in these civic bodies.
Overall, the survey estimates that the Congress could win between 68 and 76 municipalities across the state.
The main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is projected to secure 29 to 36 municipalities, while the BJP may win 3 to 5 municipalities and AIMIM could secure up to one municipality.
In around 8 to 14 municipalities, the contest is expected to be extremely close, with no clear winner predicted.
According to the People’s Pulse survey, the Congress is likely to secure about 36 percent of the vote share across the 116 municipalities, followed by the BRS with 29.7 percent and the BJP with 19.3 percent. AIMIM is expected to secure around 2 percent of the vote share.
In terms of ward-wise performance across the state, the Congress is projected to win between 1,210 and 1,290 wards, while the BRS may secure 860 to 930 wards.
The BJP could win 250 to 270 wards, AIMIM 35 to 44 wards, CPI 12 to 17 wards, CPM 10 to 14 wards, and other parties and independents 90 to 110 wards.
The survey suggests that the civic polls could deal a significant setback to the BRS, the principal opposition party in the state. It predicts that the BRS may fail to win a single municipal corporation.
Another agency - Pulse Today – also predicted the Congress victory in five of the seven municipal corporations, while the BJP will emerge as a single largest party in Karimnagar and Nizamabad municipal corporations.
In the municipalities, the Congress is expected to win 84-85 municipalities out of 116, followed by the BRS in 23-27 municipalities and BJP in 4-5 municipalities. The AIMIM is expected to capture one municipality.
