The exit poll survey conducted by former Congress MP from Vijayawada Lagadapati Rajagopal on Friday has baffled everybody, as it is in sharp contrast with the several other surveys conducted by national agencies for different electronic media channels.
Lagadapati has taken the Telangana elections far more seriously than all the other elections for which he had conducted surveys in the past.
According to reliable sources, he had spent close to Rs 18 crore in conducting the pre-election survey that spanned over three months – starting from September first week to December 7, as he did not want to take any chances.
Apparently, Lagadapati knows the elections in Telangana are very crucial for the Telugu Desam Party, which has been making efforts to bring all the opposition parties together to take on the BJP.
What is more, a win for Maha Kootami in Telangana is also important for the TDP to retain its hold in Andhra Pradesh. So, he has taken enough precautions to conduct the survey as accurately as possible.
The fact that the former MP, who became popular as Andhra Octopus for his near accurate pre-election surveys, has predicted that the TDP would get seven seats in Telangana elections itself shows how desperate he is to give all credit to the TDP.
Inquiries revealed that the survey was mostly funded by the TDP leadership itself, as it does not want to lose its image at any cost.
“Lagadapati might be right in most of his earlier election surveys in other states, because he did not have any stakes in those states. But the Telangana elections are crucial for him and the TDP and hence, he has given the edge to Maha Kootami and seven seats to the TDP, hiding the actual figures,” a senior journalist observed.
