Slight edge for Cong in Haryana: Peoples Pulse

Hyderabad: Continuing the momentum gained in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Indian National Congress (INC) is enjoying a slight edge over its main rival and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Assembly polls, according a survey carried out by city-based research organisation Peoples Pulse.

According to the Mood Survey conducted by it for a month from June 25 to July 24, Congress is expected to bag between 43 and 48 seats, leaving behind BJP which may get 34 to 39 seats while others (JJP, INLD+BSP, AAP and Independents) could bag 3-8 seats. The term of the Haryana’s current Assembly will end in the first week of November and elections are most likely to be held in October. The State has a total 90 Assembly seats with 46 being the magic mark to form the government.

As per the survey, a 10-year anti-incumbency is the primary reason for BJP being on the backfoot in the small State.

As for votes, Congress is expected to poll around 44 per cent votes and the BJP 41 per cent. The vote share for Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) is likely to be a mere two per cent followed by INLD+BSP (3), AAP (1) and others (9).

“There are at least 15 battleground (key) seats which could determine the ultimate winner. However, barring a few constituencies, the contest appeared to be closed in almost every Assembly seat. The battleground seats could turn either way, depending upon the efforts and candidates of both BJP and Congress,” Peoples Pulse said. The number of independent MLAs could also increase as independent candidates are locked in very close contests on a number of battleground seats, it added. The Mood Survey report was compiled and prepared by Rajan Pandey; R Dilip Reddy, Director; and G Murali Krishna, Senior Researcher, Peoples Pulse. Peoples Pulse will conduct a pre-poll survey after the election notification is issued.