Now, survey says Fadnavis more popular than Shinde in state

The development came days after a controversy erupted when the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena gave advertisements in newspapers which claimed that Shinde is more popular than Fadnavis in the state and 26.1% would like to see the former as the chief minister for the next term. Fadnavis got 23.2% votes in that advertisement

Mumbai: Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is more popular than chief minister Eknath Shinde in the state, according to a new survey conducted by the News Arena India on Twitter. The survey projected 35% weightage to Fadnavis for becoming the next chief minister, while only 12% of people have preferred Shinde for the post.

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The institute claimed to have projected accurate figures during the recently held Karnataka Assembly polls.

The development came days after a controversy erupted when the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena gave advertisements in newspapers which claimed that Shinde is more popular than Fadnavis in the state and 26.1% would like to see the former as the chief minister for the next term. Fadnavis got 23.2% votes in that advertisement.

The BJP, however, has said that they do not depend on any survey and have been emphasising the outreach program to sweep the forthcoming polls. State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule has however said that his party does not depend on any such survey reports.

“We have chalked out a program to reach out to 60,000 households in the Assembly constituency and over 3.5 lakh houses in Lok Sabha constituencies. We are not dependent on any findings of any survey and are working to get a thumping majority,” he said.

The survey has projected 25 seats to Shiv Sena in the Assembly polls. It currently has 40 MLAs and the party claimed the support of 10 independent leaders, taking the strength to 50. Against it, the BJP has been projected to win 123 to 129 seats. Currently, the saffron party has 105 MLAs in the lower house.

The survey has projected Congress to win 50 to 53 seats, NCP to win 55 seats, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) is expected to reduce to 17 to 19 seats. According to the survey, Congress leader Ashok Chavan has gained 21% popularity for the post of next CM, followed by Ajit Pawar, who received 14% preference, while former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has won only 9% for the top post.

Leader of opposition and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said, “It is a childish attempt to cover up the damage done by the advertisements issued by Shinde camp last week. After the Shinde camp released the survey figures demeaning BJP, another survey findings have come forward. Instead of indulging in such acts, the Shinde-Fadnavis government should concentrate on the issues related to the people.”

Shinde camp leader and state excise minister Shambhuraj Desai said that the two ruling parties are eyeing to win 200. “The decision about the next leader will be taken by two parties and prime minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah,” he added.