South First-Peoples Pulse Pre-poll Survey: KCR remains top preference as a chief minister — by a wide margin

South First’s pre-poll survey on Chief ministerial choice for Telangana Assembly elections 2023.

Meanwhile, nine percent of the respondents pointed to BJP national general secretary and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay as their chief ministerial choice.

Following him was BJP national executive member and incumbent Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender with four percent, and Telangana BJP president and Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Kishan Reddy with three percent.

Only three percent of the survey respondents picked BRS Working President KT Rama Rao as their chief ministerial choice.

He was followed by former IPS officer and Telangana BSP chief Praveen Kumar, with two percent of those surveyed choosing him as their chief ministerial candidate.

Meanwhile, seven percent of the respondents opted for others.

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KCR yes, BRS no

When respondents were asked about their preferred chief ministerial candidate, KCR emerged as the clear choice, leading by an impressive 17 percent margin over other candidates.

South First’s pre-poll survey on BRS govt get another chance.

However, regarding giving BRS another chance, 47 percent of respondents said No, while 41 percent said Yes, and approximately 11 percent remained undecided.

KCR’s popularity as the chief ministerial choice is attributed to his public familiarity, role in the Telangana movement, and the successful implementation of several bread-and-butter schemes.

Additionally, the state has only seen him as the chief minister so far, while Opposition parties frequently change their candidates, resulting in KCR’s perceived higher political stature.

Respondents also recalled KCR’s significant role in the Telangana statehood agitation.

Meanwhile, Revanth Reddy, the PCC chief who joined from the TDP and later elevated to the chief position, is viewed as an alternative to KCR by 22 percent. He has been often engaging in verbal spats and open encounters with BRS top brass, including the chief minister.

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Methodology

The survey comprised two components. The first was a structured questionnaire with face-to-face interviews with a secret ballot, and the second was computer-assisted telephonic interviews (CATI). The total sample size for both components was 15,000.

Peoples Pulse conducted the pre-poll survey with the structured questionnaire and face-to-face interviews in 51 Assembly segments selected on the basis of Probability Proportional Methodology (PPM).

Four polling stations were selected from each Assembly segment using the Systematic Random Sampling. In each polling station, 20-25 randomly selected samples from the electoral rolls were surveyed.

A total of 4,500 samples were chosen such that the sample reflected the situation on the ground in terms of caste, religion, and age. Gender was given equal representation.

Peoples Pulse, a Hyderabad-based political research organisation, conducted the survey for South First, a digital news platform, on the ground for both the components. The technical support for CATI was provided by Codemo.

An Exit Poll would be conducted by South First-Peoples Pulse on 30 November. The results would be released at 7.30 pm.

The Peoples Pulse team comprised Bathula Suresh Babu, Gurram Muralikrishna, Sambasiva Rao, Muralikrishna Sharma, A Naga Raju, J Praveen, Ramchander, J Jagadeshwar, Sridhar, Pradeep, and Prashanth. They executed the field work, data analysis, and report writing.

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