Bhupinder Hooda most preferred for Haryana chief minister post: Exit poll

Former Haryana Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda is the most preferred candidate to lead the state once again, with 30.8 per cent opting for him, as per the India Today-CVoter exit poll.

In Short

• Nayab Saini, Deepender Hooda other choices for Haryana chief minister
• Nearly 31 per cent wants Bhupinder Hooda to become chief minister
• Counting for Haryana Assembly polls to be held on October 8

Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda has emerged as the top choice for Haryana Chief Minister with 30.8 per cent, followed by Chief Minister and BJP leader Nayab Singh Saini at 22.1 per cent, according to India Today-CVoter exit poll.

Congress leaders Deepender Singh Hooda and Kumari Selja are the third and fourth most preferred chief ministerial candidates with 9.5 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively. Only 4.5 per cent backed Union Minister and BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar as the Chief Minister, the survey shows.

As per the survey, 32.6 per cent of males wanted Bhupinder Singh Hooda to lead the state while 22.5 per cent of them preferred Nayab Singh Saini. For females, 28.9 per cent of them chose Bhupinder Singh Hooda as the next Haryana Chief Minister while 21.7 per cent batted for Nayab Singh Saini, the exit poll says.

Interestingly, 20 per cent of males wanted someone else to become the chief minister while 24.6 per cent of females too had the same opinion, the survey shows.

Congress leaders Deepender Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja and former Chief Minister and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, were the third, fourth and fifth preferred candidates to take over the reins in Haryana, as per the exit poll.

In the 18-24 age group, 27.8 per cent preferred Bhupinder Singh Hooda while 18.2 per cent wanted Nayab Singh Saini. In the age group between 25-34, 30.6 per cent chose Bhupinder Singh Hooda while 20 per cent selected Nayab Singh Saini. For the 35-44 age group, Bhupinder Singh Hooda continues to be popular with 31.5 per cent of people opting for him followed by 25.4 per cent for Nayab Singh Saini, the survey shows.

Support for Bhupinder Singh Hooda continues to rise for people in the age group of 45-54 with 33.1 per cent of people batting for the former Chief Minister and 32.4 per cent in the age group of 55+. Nayab Singh Saini has the support of 24.7 per cent of people (45-54) and 24.4 per cent, according to the exit poll.

In terms of support among communities, 26.4 per cent of people from the Scheduled Caste wanted Bhupinder Singh Hooda to be the chief minister compared to 21.4 per cent for Nayab Singh Saini, the survey predicts. Bhupinder Singh Hooda also gets the support of Upper Caste Hindus (28.2 per cent), Other Backward Classes (32.1 per cent), Muslims (53.9 per cent) and Sikhs (26.2 per cent).

On the other hand, 27.9 per cent of Upper Caste Hindus, 23.6 per cent of Upper Caste Hindus, 3.4 per cent of Muslims, 16.1 per cent of Sikhs chose Nayab Singh Saini, according to the exit poll.

In urban Haryana, 27.7 per cent of people chose Bhupinder Singh Hooda, 24.7 per cent for other candidate and 23.8 per cent for Nayab Singh Saini, the survey predicts.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda also emerges as a popular choice in rural Haryana with 32.6 per cent backing him, while 20.8 per cent wanted another other candidate to become the chief minister. Just 21.2 per cent batted Nayab Singh Saini to take over the reins, as per the exit poll.

EXIT POLL PROJECTS BIG CONGRESS WIN

Meanwhile, the Congress appears set for a big win in Haryana, preventing the BJP from securing a hat-trick, according to the India Today-CVoter exit poll. The party is projected to win 50-58 of the 90 Assembly seats while the BJP is likely to get 20-28 seats.

The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) led by former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, which won 10 seats in the 2019 Assembly polls, is likely to see its fortunes crashing and get just two seats. Other parties are projected to secure 14 seats, the survey says. A party or an alliance needs to win 45 seats to form the government.

The India Today-CVoter exit poll for Haryana is based on 13,817 interviews conducted in all 90 Assembly constituencies. Health warning: Exit polls can get it wrong.

Haryana voted in a single phase on October 5 (Saturday) and a voter turnout of 61.19 per cent was recorded till 7 pm. The BJP has been in power since 2014.

In March, Nayab Singh Saini replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the Chief Minister after the BJP's alliance with Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) collapsed. Khattar resigned to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Karnal, where he had won.