Political survey agencies get busy as poll heat picks up

As the political heat is picking up in the State, many political survey agencies are getting busy in action.

Hyderabad: As the political heat is picking up in the State, many political survey agencies are getting busy in action. Sensing a good opportunity to make a mark, a few agencies from other States have already landed in the State and are involving themselves in different exercises.

Unlike the past, the political survey agencies are now extending services to ticket aspirants and independent candidates and are not confining themselves to leading political parties. Apart from party surveys, a few aspirants and independent candidates are getting surveys done in their respective constituencies to gauge their prospects. This practice is not limited to urban areas and is very much rampant in rural areas as well.

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Surveys are also conducted in time gaps of six months to one year, showcasing the candidates’ prospects during the period. This apart, the exercise can be limited to a particular division or mandal or cover the entire constituency.

“From the last few months, we are in contact with aspiring candidates and sitting MLAs for opinion and door-to-door surveys. We also did surveys for Assembly constituencies represented by prominent leaders,” PRever Media Solutions Private Limited Director (Surveys and Strategies) Adla Satish Kumar said.

The political survey agencies are conducting surveys in different patterns. They are also extending services in building up a candidate’s profile on social media, creating SMS-based messages, caller tunes and even designing election flyers.

Generally, surveys are conducted in two patterns, including Opinion survey and door-to-door survey.

Depending on the constituency, in the opinion survey, agencies collect a random sample of 5000 voters. The agencies charges range from Rs.100 to 150 per sample.

Similarly, in the door-to-door survey, agencies hit the doorsteps of voters and based on the demographic profile of the constituency, they collect age wise and other parameters wise opinions. Under this type of survey, about Rs.10 is charged per voter. Opinions of people, who are not listed in the voters list, are also collected.

The questionnaire in the survey includes performance of the existing candidate, his or her accessibility, issues in the locality, performance of State and Central governments etc.

Already, a few agencies are sharing constituency wise details of their surveys on Twitter. Given the high-intensity campaign and elections in the State, a few agencies, including PK, ABM and C Voter too are in the business.