VIJAYAWADA : If exit poll verdicts are anything to go by, anti-incumbency is hemorrhaging the ruling parties in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha in the assembly elections.
In Andhra, the ruling YSR Congress appears to be on a slippery slope. Most pollsters predict the wresting of power by the TDP-led alliance, which includes the BJP and actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party.
India Today-Axis My India’s exit poll projected the TDP-BJP-JSP win with 98-120 seats as against the YSRC’s 55-77 seats. It also predicted that the TDP would emerge as the single largest party in the state with 78 to 96 seats.
Andhra has a total of 175 Assembly seats and the halfway mark is 88. People’s Pulse gave YSRC 45-60 seats and the TDP alliance 111-135. On the other hand, Hyderabad-based AARAA’s exit poll predicted that the YSRC would retain power with 94-104 seats. Likewise, Partha Das’ Chanakya.com projected that the YSRC was comfortable at 110-120 and the TDP alliance at 55-65 seats. Times Now ETG, too, gave the YSRC 117-125 seats.
As for Odisha, the exit poll by India Today-Axis My India released on Sunday suggested both the BJD and the BJP would get seats in the range of 62-80. The poll predicted 42% vote share for both the parties. It could mean a hung assembly and indicates either party is capable of a simple majority.
While the projections are a big jump for the BJP, the ruling BJD may be in for a shock. The Congress may bag 5-8 seats.
As for vote share, it predicted 42% for both the BJP and the BJD with 10% accretion for the BJP and 3% slide for the BJD. The grand old party’s vote share was projected as 12%, a 4% drop. Similarly, Jan Ki Baat predicted the BJP’s tally as 58, BJD 81 and Congress 8.