Congress To Sweep Municipal Elections: Exit Poll

The ruling Congress is poised for a sweeping victory in Telangana's municipal elections, with exit polls by People's Pulse projecting a strong performance across municipalities and municipal corporations.

The polling concluded today for 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations. The elections witnessed a three-cornered contest among the ruling Congress, the BRS and the BJP. The counting of votes is scheduled for February 13.

According to People's Pulse, the Congress is likely to capture nearly 70% of the urban local bodies that went to the polls, signalling a significant political shift. The party is expected to perform strongly in the Mancherial, Ramagundam, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar and Kothagudem municipal corporations. The BJP is projected to emerge as the largest party in the Karimnagar and Nizamabad corporations, where the AIMIM may play a key kingmaker role.

The exit poll suggests a major setback for the main opposition party the BRS, predicting that it may fail to secure control of any municipal corporation.

As per the survey, key corporation projections are:

Ramagundam: Congress 30-34 wards; BRS 16-20; BJP 3-6; Others 4-7
Mancherial: Congress 39-43; BRS 8-12; BJP 6-9; Others 1-2
Kothagudem: Congress 28-34; BRS 7-9; CPI 14-16; Others 2-4
Mahabubnagar: Congress 26-30; BRS 18-22; BJP 6-8; AIMIM 2-4
Nalgonda: Congress 21-26; BRS 8-12; BJP 6-10; AIMIM 2-4
Nizamabad: BJP 26-31; Congress 10-16; AIMIM 8-12; BRS 2-4
Karimnagar: BJP 24-29; Congress 14-16; AIMIM 6-9; BRS 10-12

For the municipalities, overall, the Congress is projected to win between 68 and 76, followed by the BRS (29-36), the BJP (3-5) and the AIMIM (0-1), with tight contests expected in 8-14 municipalities.

Ward projections indicate the Congress leading with 1,210-1,290 seats, followed by the BRS (860-930), the BJP (250-270), the AIMIM (35-44), the CPI (12-17), the CPM (10-14), and others (90-110).

In terms of vote share, the Congress is estimated to secure 36%, ahead of the BRS (29.7%), the BJP (19.3%) and the AIMIM (2%).