IF the latest popularity survey is anything to go by, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe stands a good chance of competing for the highest office in the land.
A TNS South Africa survey conducted late last year puts Motlanthe just one percentage point behind President Jacob Zuma in terms of popularity.
The survey shows that 48% of those polled approved of Zuma while Motlanthe's approval rating was at 47%.
The latest figures indicate a sharp decline in Zuma's popularity when compared with the 58% approval he received soon after taking up office in 2009.
But it is the embattled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema whose approval ratings are at an all-time low, with only 17% of South Africans agreeing with what he says and does.
The study, conducted among 2000 adults across the country's metropolitan areas, polled the support of the three ANC leaders ahead of the ruling party's national conference in December.
Neil Higgs, senior adviser at TNS, told the Sunday Times that they decided to also poll Motlanthe as he was likely to become a player in the ANC's succession battle.
However, Higgs said: "Motlanthe doesn't say much. We don't know which way he is falling. Is he falling with the anti-Zuma or pro-Zuma group? We just thought that he's obviously going to be a player at some point."
However, while Motlanthe may be close to Zuma in popularity, the survey was not conducted among ANC members, who ultimately decide the ruling party's and the country's presidency - after they win elections.
Most surprising from the survey was Zuma's loss of support in Soweto, where he polled a whopping 71% in 2009, only to drop to 50% in 2011.
Motlanthe enjoys 54% of support in South Africa's biggest township.
However the president's support in his home province, KwaZulu-Natal, remains stable, with a tiny increase among Durban residents and also whites, coloureds, Indians and Asians.
Most shocking in the survey was that not one of the 115 Indians and Asians polled supported Malema.
Higgs said this was not surprising.
"The Indian sample was not huge, it's a portion of the population. In previous surveys we've had very low levels [for Malema], like 1% or 2%," said Higgs.
Malema's support has shown a steady decline, down from 27% in 2009 and 21% in 2010 to the current levels.
More whites and coloureds approve of Motlanthe than they do of Zuma, while the president was ahead of his deputy among blacks and Indians.
In Gauteng, Motlanthe sits at 57% while Zuma follows at 53%. Only 20% of Gautengers approve of Malema.
Capetonians seem to care less about the three politicians, with both Zuma and Motlanthe's approval ratings at 24% compared to Malema at 11%.
But in Durban and the Eastern Cape, Zuma has the edge over his deputy while Motlanthe remains more popular than Zuma in Bloemfontein.
As expected, Durbanites are not fond of Malema.
Zuma and Motlanthe are more popular among Zulu and Tswana speakers, with the deputy president also having the backing of Sotho speakers
For Malema, he draws most of his support from among Sepedi and Sotho speakers.
TNS said the survey had a 2.5% margin of error.
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