A survey by Pew Research Center has found that seven in 10 Indians are dissatisfied with the way things are and pushing for political change.
According to the survey’s findings, popular dissatisfaction rules the airwaves: “Dissatisfaction is remarkably widespread, with such disgruntlement cutting across various demographic groups: men (72%) and women (67%); Indians aged 18 to 29 years (72%) and those 50 years of age and older (69%); those with primary education or less (67%) and those with a college education or more (75%); and people living in urban areas (72%) and those in rural areas (68%).”
Bruce Stokes, director of Pew Research Center, said, “What we found most interesting was the degree of the desire for change (we didn’t ask who people would vote for they may end up wanting change but still vote for Congress) which suggests that whoever leads the Lok Sabha faces a public that wants change.”
By a margin of three to one, Indians, according to the survey are rooting for Narendra Modi’s BJP to the Congress party. Roughly 78% of Indians have a favourable view of Modi, while 16% hold an unfavourable view, it says. Rahul Gandhi is not exactly unpopular — 50% of those surveyed hold a favourable view of him, while 43% don’t. About 63% prefer the BJP to lead the next government, while only 19 % pick the Congress. Other parties get about 12% support. According to the survey, support for BJP is consistent across age groups, and covers both rural and urban Indians.
But a clear flaw in the survey is the absence of Arvind Kejriwal as it has not factored in Aam Aadmi Party, the new political force which promises to shake up electoral calculations. Questioned on this, Stokes said, “While the survey came after the Delhi elections, the questionnaire, which had to be translated into 8 languages, was formulated before the polls and so we did not appreciate that AAP would win and thus failed to ask about Kejriwal. I wish we had, in retrospect, but it’s one of the limitations of doing door-to-door interviewing. It’s more accurate than say internet surveys but the lead times are far greater.”
Modi’s approval ratings are specially high in the northern states, where he is popular in both rural and urban areas, across income groups and among both educated and uneducated people. But surprisingly, the survey shows his popularity dipping in the western states. In the south, BJP has 59% approval rating — some reason for the party to scramble to find suitable candidates in the southern states where it does not have a strong presence.
Gandhi’s regional support is strongest in the east where the Congress is fighting for political space with Trinamool, JD(U) and BJD among others. The survey observes that there is a notable difference between the intensity of support for Modi and Gandhi. Nearly 60% of those surveyed say they have a ‘very favourable’ view of Modi, while Gandhi polled merely 23% ‘very favourable’ ratings.
According to the survey’s findings, popular dissatisfaction rules the airwaves: “Dissatisfaction is remarkably widespread, with such disgruntlement cutting across various demographic groups: men (72%) and women (67%); Indians aged 18 to 29 years (72%) and those 50 years of age and older (69%); those with primary education or less (67%) and those with a college education or more (75%); and people living in urban areas (72%) and those in rural areas (68%).”
Bruce Stokes, director of Pew Research Center, said, “What we found most interesting was the degree of the desire for change (we didn’t ask who people would vote for they may end up wanting change but still vote for Congress) which suggests that whoever leads the Lok Sabha faces a public that wants change.”
By a margin of three to one, Indians, according to the survey are rooting for Narendra Modi’s BJP to the Congress party. Roughly 78% of Indians have a favourable view of Modi, while 16% hold an unfavourable view, it says. Rahul Gandhi is not exactly unpopular — 50% of those surveyed hold a favourable view of him, while 43% don’t. About 63% prefer the BJP to lead the next government, while only 19 % pick the Congress. Other parties get about 12% support. According to the survey, support for BJP is consistent across age groups, and covers both rural and urban Indians.
But a clear flaw in the survey is the absence of Arvind Kejriwal as it has not factored in Aam Aadmi Party, the new political force which promises to shake up electoral calculations. Questioned on this, Stokes said, “While the survey came after the Delhi elections, the questionnaire, which had to be translated into 8 languages, was formulated before the polls and so we did not appreciate that AAP would win and thus failed to ask about Kejriwal. I wish we had, in retrospect, but it’s one of the limitations of doing door-to-door interviewing. It’s more accurate than say internet surveys but the lead times are far greater.”
Modi’s approval ratings are specially high in the northern states, where he is popular in both rural and urban areas, across income groups and among both educated and uneducated people. But surprisingly, the survey shows his popularity dipping in the western states. In the south, BJP has 59% approval rating — some reason for the party to scramble to find suitable candidates in the southern states where it does not have a strong presence.
Gandhi’s regional support is strongest in the east where the Congress is fighting for political space with Trinamool, JD(U) and BJD among others. The survey observes that there is a notable difference between the intensity of support for Modi and Gandhi. Nearly 60% of those surveyed say they have a ‘very favourable’ view of Modi, while Gandhi polled merely 23% ‘very favourable’ ratings.
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