HYDERABAD: The TRS is upbeat that most exit polls predicted victory for the party in Thursday’s Munugode Assembly byelection, supporting the reports that the party secured from its local leaders from every polling booth on Friday.
Party sources said TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and party working president K.T. Rama Rao analysed the high voter turnout that was witnessed after 5 pm and the ground reports booth wise. Exit polls in contrast were based on the polling trends until 5 pm. The polling went on till 10 pm in a few polling booths as officials allowed all voters who were in queue before 6 pm to exercise their franchise. A significant number of polling booths witnessed polling till 8 pm and 9 pm.
Party sources said that after analysing all reports, both leaders expressed confidence that TRS would win with a majority of about 15,000 votes.
Sources said Chandrashekar Rao and Rama Rao felt the need to analyse following doubts raised over exit polls as a large number of youth turned up at polling booths after 5 pm, especially in urban areas who reportedly voted in favour of BJP.
They came to a conclusion that the urban voter turnout was poor when compared with rural areas and as such this would not impact the prospects of TRS.
They cited the case of the Chandur municipality, which witnessed only 68.22 per cent polling against the overall 93 per cent voting in the constituency, and Choutuppal municipality which recorded 73.80 per cent.
TRS leaders strongly believe that the beneficiaries of state government's welfare schemes voted in favour of TRS and this would ensure a comfortable victory for the party in the counting to be held on Sunday. The constituency has over two lakh people who have benefitted from welfare schemes like Aasara, Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, Kalyana Laxmi and KCR kits.
