It is a closely contested election between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in Telangana, as per exit poll results published after the final phase of polling in the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday, June 1.
According to the ABP-CVoter exit poll, the two parties are expected to tie for seven to nine seats in an intense contest. The poll also predicted zero seats for the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), an embarrassing defeat for the party that had taken the lead in 2019 with nine seats.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is expected to retain the Hyderabad seat, which attracted overwhelming media attention this election as the party chief Asaduddin Owaisi, one of India's most prominent Muslim politicians, was challenged by BJP’s Madhavi Latha, a debutant who heavily relied on her Hindutva image.
The 2024 exit polls indicate a dramatic shift from the 2019 results. In 2019, BRS secured first place with nine seats and a vote share of 41.7%. Despite facing a defeat in the 2018 Assembly elections, the BJP managed to win four LS seats a year later with a 19.7% vote share, while the Congress won three seats with a higher vote share of 29.8 %. AIMIM's vote share was 2.8%.
The ABP-CVoter survey projects that the share of votes cast for the Congress and BJP will rise in 2024. They expect that Congress will receive 39% of votes, while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will receive 33%. AIMIM's vote share is predicted to drop to 2% and BRS will lose half of its vote share according to the exit poll.
The MyAxis exit poll conducted for India Today projects a BJP victory in 11–12 seats with a 43% vote share, an increase of almost 25% over 2019. With a 39% vote share, the Congress is expected to win three to six seats. Both BRS and AIMIM are expected to secure zero to one seat each.
India TV-CNX exit polls show that the BJP is expected to take first place with eight to 10 seats. They predicted that the Congress would win in six to eight seats, BRS zero to one seat, and Assadudin Owaisi would retain his Hyderabad seat.
News18’s exit poll also predicted a BJP lead in Telangana. They predicted that the BJP would win in seven to 10 seats, Congress in five to eight seats, and BRS in two to five seats.
According to Jan Ki Baat exit polls, BJP will lead with nine to 12 seats, while Congress will trail with four to seven seats. BRS and AIMIM are each expected to secure one seat each.
TV9 Telugu predicted that Congress will lead with eight seats, while BJP is expected to follow with seven seats. BRS and AIMIM are each predicted to secure one seat.
The primary contest in Telangana this time was between BJP and Congress. BRS, which lost to Congress in the Assembly election in November 2023, is expected to lose its bastion that it held for two consecutive terms in 2014 and 2019.
Polling for the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana were held on May 13 under phase 4. The state witnessed a voter turnout of 65.67%, nearly 1% less than the previous election.