Nine cities, 3,300 people surveyed, and the picture that emerges is of Indians who think on remarkably similar lines.
Nationwide DNA-IMRS survey flags off issues which were the Prime Minister’s Achilles heel: prices, jobs, poverty and farmers
MUMBAI: Nine cities, 3,300 people surveyed, and the picture that emerges is of Indians who think on remarkably similar lines.
Although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gets a healthy 42 per cent approval rating for his handling of the country’s economy, on four issues — Controlling Price Rise (27), Creation of Jobs (33), Poverty Reduction (30), and Economic Condition of Farmers (34) — Singh’s ratings get a beating.
More than 50 per cent in Kolkata (62), Hyderabad (61), Delhi (56), Bhopal (52) and Pune (51) blame Singh for not being able to control prices of essential commodities and fuel. If it is any consolation, slightly less than 50 per cent in Mumbai (47), Bangalore (47) and Ahmedabad (46) thought Singh was unsuccessful in reining in inflation.
The only silver lining was Chennai, where a healthy 48 per cent felt Singh had succeeded in keeping prices within the reach of the ordinary consumer.
Singh’s ratings are also poor on the issue of Creation of Jobs. Kolkata — with 62 per cent saying Singh’s performance has been inadequate — leads the way. Hyderabad (52), Delhi (50) and Bhopal (49) follow suit. Only a really optimistic assessment can see Ahmedabad (38), Mumbai (35) and Pune (34) as endorsing Singh’s performance on this front. Only Chennai (63) stood by Singh.
On the issue of Poverty Reduction, more than 50 per cent of Bhopal (56), Hyderabad (54) and Ahmedabad (51) feel Singh has failed. Significantly, more than 40 per cent of Delhi (49), Mumbai (46) and Pune (42) feel Singh’s performance is nothing to talk about. A large section of Kolkatans (39) and Chennaiites (33) feel the prime minister needs to take significant and decisive steps to reduce poverty.
Over 40 per cent of Pune (48), Kolkata (48), Bhopal (45), Delhi (44) and Hyderabad (41) feel Singh hasn’t done enough to improve the economic condition of farmers. Thirty-nine per cent of Mumbaikars and Amdavadis feel the same.
It is significant that a problem which is essentially rural in nature has registered as one of the top-priority concerns in the urban mindscape. It questions the conventional view that the Indian urban class is insular and concerned only about issues that affect it directly. On handling social and political issues, Singh has an overall approval rating of 40 per cent, with Chennai (60) backing him strongly and Bhopal (27) giving him a strong thumbs down.
Significantly, more than 30 per cent of those surveyed in metros feel Singh has not been able to tackle terrorism and make any progress in resolving the Kashmir issue. Forty per cent of Delhiites and Mumbaikars feel Singh has been unsuccessful in handling terrorism. Clearly, the 7/11 train blasts in which over 200 Mumbaikars were killed has influenced Singh’s ratings.
But, more significantly, 30 per cent and more of those surveyed in non-metros feel that Singh has been a failure in resolving all the five social and political issues — Safety and Security, Handling Coalition Politics, Reservations in Jobs and Education, Tackling Terrorism, and Kashmir.
A substantial 41 per cent of those surveyed in Bhopal feel Singh’s record in 2006 has been poor in handling terrorism. A whopping 65 per cent of Amdavadis feel Singh has failed in making any progress in resolving the Kashmir issue. Fifty per cent Amdavadis also feel Singh has failed to secure their safety and security.
Singh scored the best on handling international relations, with an overall rating of 48 per cent (51 in metros and 43 in non-metros). More than 30 per cent in both metros and non-metros feel Singh has not been able to improve relations with Pakistan.
Amdavadis were most critical of Singh, with 60 per cent saying he has not been able to improve relations with Pakistan. Interestingly, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been openly critical of Singh’s “unsuccessful” efforts in reining in Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism.
Significantly, though, over 50 per cent of those polled in metros and over 40 per cent of those polled in non-metros feel Singh has a done good job in improving relations with US and China. The progress made in the Sino-Indian border dispute in 2006 and the signing of the landmark civilian nuclear
deal with the US seems to have created a good impression of Singh in the mindscape of urban Indians. Significantly, economic and trade ties have also increased with both China and the US.
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