An opinion poll conducted by RSS mouthpiece Organiser ahead of lok Sabha elections has said that development and governance were top issues for the voters but steered clear of any mention of Ram Temple.
The survey, published in the latest issue of the weekly, said BJP’s prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi is the top choice of voters for the PM’s post except in South India where Rahul Gandhi enjoys an edge. Corruption, strangely, did not figure among the top five topics for voters though it was one of the top ten issues. The opinion poll, however, does not mention Ram Temple.
The survey, conducted by Organiser and lok Saarthi Foundation in 380 parliamentary constituencies across all States in Central, Northern, Western, Eastern and Southern India, said that the majority of 1.14 lakh sampled electors listed lack of employment and basic amenities such as electricity, hospitals, roads and drinking water, as their primary concern. The survey was conducted between the first week of January and the first week of March to gauge the “mood of the voters” on the issues of concern for them and preferred leadership.
It took 300 samples from each lok Sabha segment to “determine issues infringing on the day-to-day lives of people and of leadership which people see as capable of solving those issues”. The all-India opinion poll says that Modi is the top choice for PM’s job by 48 per cent of the voters in north India followed by 27 per cent who back Rahul Gandhi. Arvind Kejriwal of AAP, however, trails far behind, it said.
RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav said the survey was not conducted by RSS but the Organiser, a weekly run by Swayamsevaks and RSS sympathisers. “RSS does not and never conducts any surveys at the time of elections. This survey is done by Organiser. But to term and project it as an RSS survey is not correct,” informed Madhav. Reacting to the survey, BJP Vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “At present, there is a wave against mal-governance. This election will be to change the situation and fate of the country. Narendra Modi, BJP and NDA will win the lok Sabha polls irrespective of whether the survey perdicts it or not.”
According to the survey, in South India, however, the poll found that Rahul was ahead of Modi in popularity with 35.8 per cent voters backing him for PM’s job as against 33.3 per cent who supported Modi. In all the other four regions, the poll placed Modi ahead of Rahul.
