As Congress CM Race Heats Up in Haryana, Bhupinder Hooda Remain People's Top Choice For Chief Minister Post

Exit polls predict a Congress victory in Haryana's 2024 Assembly elections, with Bhupinder Singh Hooda emerging as the top choice for Chief Minister

Amid exit polls for Haryana's 2024 Assembly elections indicating a dominance for Congress, Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda has reportedly emerged as the top choice for the post of Chief Minister. As per the latest survey, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and incumbent CM Nayab Singh Saini is the second most popular choice of Haryana voters for top post.

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, according to the latest survey conducted by India Today-CVoter.

As per the report, senior Hooda remained on the top of the list with 30.8 per cent votes, followed by Saini with 22.1 per cent votes, Deepender Hooda with 9.5 per cent votes, followed by Selja with 4.9 per cent votes. Only 4.5 per cent of people wanted Union Minister and BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar as the Chief Minister, the survey showed.

The survey report showed Bhupinder Hooda was more popular among male voters, with 32.6 per cent wanting them on the top post, while only 28.9 per cent of females wanted him as the CM. On the other hand, Saini was the CM choice of 22.5 per cent men and 21.7 per cent women.  Interestingly, the survey showed that 20 per cent of men wanted a new face as the chief minister while 24.6 per cent also wanted the same thing.

Exit Polls Predict Big Win For Congress In Haryana

Several exit polls on Saturday predicted a clear majority for the Congress in Haryana. Dainik Bhaskar' predicted the Congress getting 44-54 seats and the BJP 15-29 seats in the 90-member Haryana Assembly. The C-Voter-India Today polls gave Congress 50-58 seats and the BJP 20-28 seats in Haryana, while the Republic Bharat-Matrize polls put the Congress tally even higher at 55-62 seats as against the BJP's 18-24.

The Red Mike-Datansh exit poll gave the Congress 50-55 seats in Haryana and the BJP at 20-25, while Dhruv Research pegged the Congress at 50-64 and the BJP at 22-32. Peoples' Pulse exit poll gave the Congress 49-60 seats and the BJP 20-32 seats in Haryana.

Most exit polls pegged the INLD's tally higher than that of the JJP, while others were seen getting up to 10 seats. The BJP has been in power in Haryana since 2014 with Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister for over nine years. The BJP's second term in office in 2019 was in alliance with the JJP, with Dushyant Singh Chautala as deputy chief minister.

Khattar and Chautala quit in March ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, making way for Nayab Singh Saini, a prominent OBC face of the BJP, as chief minister. Chautala's JJP also snapped ties with the BJP. The Congress is hoping to make a comeback in Haryana with former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda leading the poll campaign.