Congress poised to form its first government in Telangana, say exit polls

Congress is poised to form its first government in Telangana, according to India Today-Axis My India exit poll which released its outcome for the state on Friday, a day after the southern state went to the polls.

The exit polls by other pollsters who released their prediction on Thursday had also said that Congress is expected to form the government and the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) would fall short of the majority after its 10-year rule in India's youngest state.

The polling for the 119-member Telangana concluded on Thursday and it was the last among five states that went to the polls this month.

According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll, Congress is expected to win 63-73 seats in Congress and BRS 34-44 seats. It said the BJP is likely to get 4 to 8 seats and others 5 to 8 seats.

The poll predicted Congress vote share rising to 42 per cent, that of BRS sliding to 36 per cent and BJP getting 14 per cent vote share. It predicted that AIMIM will get 3 per cent votes and others 5 per cent.

In terms of region-wise distribution of seats, the poll predicted that in the northern region, BRS would get 13 seats, Congress 15 and BJP 5 seats.

The exit poll said the Congress is expected to sweep the central and southern regions. It predicted BRS getting nine seats and Congres 22 seats in the central region.

It said in the southern region of the state, BRS is poised to get 6 seats, Congress 27 and BJP one seat.

The exit poll said that in the Hyderabad region, AIMIM is poised to get 6 seats, Congress three seats, BJP one seat and BRS 11 seats.

Exit polls released on Thursday had given an advantage to Congress and predicted that the party will form the government.

The Times Now-ETG exit poll gave 38 per cent vote share to BRS, 43 per cent to Congress and 13 per cent to others. It said the ruling party in the state is poised to win 37-45 seats, Congress 60-70 seats, BJP 6-8 and others 5-7 seats.

Republic TV exit poll gave Congress 58-69 seats and the BRS 46-56 seats. It said BJP could win 4 to 9 seats and others 5 to 8 seats.

The poll predicted a 41.60 per cent vote share for BRS, 43.30 per cent for Congress, 10.80 per cent for BJP and 4.30 for others.

The India TV-CNX exit poll predicted 63-79 seats for the Congress, 31-47 for the BRS, 0-2 for the BJP and 5-7 for others.

According to Jan ki Baat poll, Congress is poised to win 48 to 64 seats in Telangana. It said BRS could win 40 to 55 seats and BJP 7 to 13 seats.

Telangana recorded a voter turnout of 71.34 per cent.

In 2018, BRS (then Telangana Rashtra Samithi) won 88 of the 119 seats and had a 47.4 per cent vote share. The Congress came a distant second with 19 seats.

The counting of votes in Telangana along with three other states will take place on December 3. Counting will be held in Mizoram on December 4.