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Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance party has the highest popularity compared to other parties Murang’a county.

In an opinion poll conducted by TIFA, 69 per cent of the residents said they support the party beating its rival Jubilee party by a huge margin.

Jubilee which was dominating the area a few years back only have 11 per cent of the residents supporting it.

Leaders supporting UDA have been conducting massive campaigns to drum up support for this entity as well as its presidential candidate.

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, his counterpart from Kandara Alice Wahome and senator Irungu Kang’ata have been at the forefront to sell the party and its agenda to the residents.

They are on record saying that UDA shall form the next government and it shall have majority of the leaders elected on its ticket.

Mary Waithira, the member of parliament for Maragua is the latest entrant to the party after she decamped from Jubilee two weeks ago.

The party’s popularity has attracted many aspirants who are vying for various elective posts in the county.

Leaders affiliated with Jubilee on the other hand have put up spirited campaigns to revive the party hoping to recapture its popularity in the county and the entire Mt Kenya region ahead of elections.

The team led by former Gatanga Member of Parliament Peter Kenneth has been meeting grassroots leaders and holding town hall meetings to strategize on how to neutralize UDA in the region but it seems they still have their work cut out.

Kenneth said he is hopeful that the residents shall re-embrace the Jubilee whose leader is President Uhuru Kenyatta.

According to the opinion poll, Raila Odinga’s ODM has 9 per cent of the residents supporting it while Murang’a governor Mwangi wa Iria’s Usawa kwa Wote and the Amani National Congress got one per cent each.

13 per cent of those who participated in the survey were not decided or did not know which party to support.

On the presidential contest, Deputy President William Ruto is the favourite among the residents with 71 per cent of them throwing their weight behind him.

ODM leader Raila Odinga comes in second with 16 per cent as Mwangi Wa Iria garners one per cent.

Nine per cent of those who participated in the survey was undecided while 3 per cent did not have a preferred candidate.