New Delhi: A survey conducted by the CSDS-Lokniti and reported on by The Hindu says that three issues that respondents agree are the most relevant for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are unemployment, price rise and development.
Of these, unemployment and price rise are capable of causing headaches for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Respondents who named ‘development’ as an issue are likely to vote for the BJP, the report says.
The @LoknitiCSDS‘ #NES2024PrePoll data, #unemployment holds the top spot as the single most important voting issue, followed by the issue of #pricerise. While popular issues such as that of #corruption and #RamMandir were not mentioned by voters as their most important concerns. pic.twitter.com/CCIz4NcT8z
Advertisement— Lokniti-CSDS (@LoknitiCSDS) April 11, 2024
Unemployment – which had emerged as a key issue in assembly elections across states as well – has intensified over time and affects India’s significant younger population, a recent International Labour Organisation report found. In 2022, the share of unemployed youths in the total unemployed population was 82.9%, the report said.
The study finds that nearly three-fifth of respondents feel that getting jobs has become more difficult compared to the last five years, in what underscores the prevailing challenges in the job market. Only 12% said they find it easier to get jobs.
The report said that rural respondents are more likely to mention unemployment and price rise – the latter also saw an increase in mention since 2019.
While ‘development’ remains a key plank for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, close to two in 10 voters are of the view that in the past five years, no development has taken place in the country, the Hindu finds. “Though this sentiment has persisted among a similar proportion of voters since 2004, the pre-poll survey found that 32% of voters think that in the past five years, development has taken place ‘only for the rich’,” the report says.
There is also a general sense of skepticism over development initiatives.
While gauging sentiments on #developmentoutreach, the recent #NES2024PrePoll study reflects both optimism and skepticism towards current #development initiatives. With a concerning proportion of respondents (15%) expressing disillusionment, perceiving no development at all. pic.twitter.com/ZXgd7AfyCm
— Lokniti-CSDS (@LoknitiCSDS) April 11, 2024
“Only 8% respondents” mentioned corruption and the Ram temple in Ayodhya as key issues on their own, the report says. However, the sense among majority of voters seems to be that there has been a rise in corruption in the last five years of the Modi government.
55% say corruption has increased in the past five years.@LoknitiCSDS @the_hindu pic.twitter.com/7tqAnRJlYD
— Seema Chishti (@seemay) April 11, 2024
Meanwhile, issues like the farmers’ protests over a Minimum Support Price guarantee find resonance.
The data from our latest #NES2024PrePoll study shows that the #farmers‘ cause resonates widely, demanding attention and resolution.
-63 percent of farmers assert their #genuinedemands in the ongoing protest, while only a small proportion of 11 percent see it as a #conspiracy. pic.twitter.com/SGD5OJzGIJ
Advertisement— Lokniti-CSDS (@LoknitiCSDS) April 11, 2024
