The assessment was made a few days before the Election Commission allowed Rythu Bandhu deposits, a move that could help the BRS.
Published Nov 25, 2023 | 3:54 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 25, 2023 | 5:45 PM
Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy with Congress leadership (Supplied)
With the Telangana state Assembly elections scheduled for 30 November, political parties are putting all their efforts into ensuring a win in the final stretch before polling day.
The state has seen Congress leader Rahul Gandhi trying his hand at making a dosa, BRS working president KT Rama Rao riding in the Hyderabad Metro, and Narendra Modi consoling a weeping Dalit leader. The images are both endearing and enduring.
Even as political parties are engaged in these activities as part of their outreach to the voters, some serious activity is happening behind the scenes to predict the winner.
While analysts belonging to the three main parties as well professional political consultancies pore over data and ground reports to arrive at their conclusions, a similar effort is being put in by another set of analysts — those belonging to state and central agencies.
State and central agencies have been assessing election trends and projecting numbers for years now, and reliable sources tell South First that their analysts and foot soldiers with an ear to the ground have reported that the Congress party has the edge in the election to Telangana’s 119-seat Assembly.
According to these sources, “The reports submitted suggest an edge to the Congress, with 65-67 seats; 40-43 for the ruling BRS; 6-7 for the AIMIM; one to the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party), and one to the BJP-Jana Sena alliance.”
Regarding the accuracy of the reports, a source in the one of the agencies mentioned, “It’s a usual practice to make an assessment in every election. Our assessment is completely based on observations at the ground level.”
This assessment was said to be made in the second half of November, just a few days before the Election Commission of India’s decision to allow Rythu Bandhu deposits by the BRS-led government to around 60 lakh farmers.
The Rythu Bandhu announcement may have a positive impact in certain constituencies, which could potentially shift the mood in favour of BRS, these sources contended.
