India Today mood of the nation poll

  17-Aug-2020 12:49:27

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Recently, the result of India Today’s Mood of the Nation Survey (August edition, 2020) was released. The Mood of the Nation (MOTN) survey was conducted by India Today Group-Karvy Insights Ltd., under the supervision of Mr. Ranjit Chib, Chairman of Karvy Insights. This survey is held twice every year, the first in January and the second in August. By analyzing the data of this poll, the India Today Group Mood of the Nation attempts to understand the average Indian’s take on issues the country is faced with.

Traditionally, the survey was conducted through a face-to-face interviewing method using a standard structured interview questionnaire, but this year, due to the unprecedented situation arising because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, all Interviews were conducted telephonically. This time the survey was conducted in 19 states – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and so on. And overall 12,012 interviews were conducted which spread across 194 assembly constituencies.

In this edition of the Mood of the Nation survey, people have answered questions about the COVID-19 crisis, the economic repercussions people faced due to the coronavirus disease, and the government’s response to the pandemic. Questions on contemporary issues like border dispute with China, party politics, and the popularity of leaders in times of crisis were also asked.

MODI GOVERNMENT

MOTN survey 2020 asked people questions on how the government is performing, and if the elections were to be held today which party would they vote for. The results showed that BJP’s 303 seat majority in the May 2019 Lok Sabha Election would be reduced to 283 seats if these elections were to be held today. But, the party still would be able to form the government on its own. The government has been able to improve its image in East and South India, as the survey shows an increase in the seats won by the party from both the regions.

After one year of the Modi 2.0 government, 78% of the people surveyed found PM Modi’s performance outstanding/good. Whereas, according to MOTN survey, only 5% of the respondents found PM Modi’s performance poor. 24 % of the respondents said they were very satisfied with the performance of the NDA government while 48% of the respondents were satisfied. Our Union Home Minister, Amit Shah is the most popular minister in the current cabinet. These figures show the confidence of the people in the government especially when the country is facing many challenges. From the coronavirus pandemic to border tensions with China to the need to revive the economy, India faces challenges on multiple fronts. Nevertheless, the people feel the government is capable of solving all these problems.

Revocation of article 370, followed by the Supreme Court’s verdict on Ram Mandir was recorded to be the best achievements of the Modi government. However, the survey recorded a 4% drop from January 2020, in those who hailed Revocation of Article 370 as the government’s single biggest achievement. In matters of governance, only 11% of the respondents said that the ‘improved infrastructure’ was the government’s biggest achievement.

In contrast, 25% of the respondents think that the government has failed to handle COVID-19 pandemic effectively, and is its single biggest failure. The reason behind this is that the cases in India are continuously rising. India is now the world’s 3rd worst affected country by the coronavirus disease. Further, as the unemployment rate rises due to the pandemic, the inability to reduce it proves to be the second biggest failure of the government for 23% of the respondents.

ECONOMY

Economically India is witnessing sluggish growth. The growth rate is declining, the unemployment rate is rising and many sectors- coal, crude, natural oils recorded negative growth in May 2020. In light of this, people were asked about how well the government handled the economy. For 23% of the respondents, the government handled the economy outstandingly. While for 48% of the respondents, the government’s efforts were good. But, for 33% of the respondents, the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign for the economic revival amid the coronavirus pandemic was not a timely campaign. These respondents feel that India 'doesn't have the capabilities yet' to be a self-reliant nation. Moreover, the same percentage of respondents feel that government policies favor big businesses. On the other hand, 43% of the respondents felt that the Modi government was better than Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government. And the percentage of respondents who feel that the Modi government performance was worse than the UPA government has declined from 30% (MOTN Survey January 2020) to 10% (MOTN survey August 2020).

COVID-19

Six months after the first confirmed COVID-19 case in India, it is currently the 3rd worst affected country in the world. So, the MOTN survey tried to find out how people feel about this crisis. It questioned people about the impact of the pandemic on the economy, migrant crisis, and health infrastructure. The results showed that 48% of the respondents felt that India’s collective response to COVID-19 was at par with the other countries. Over 70% of the respondents were satisfied with the efforts put forward by their state governments to handle this crisis.

The coronavirus has drastically impacted the country’s economic growth. To revive the Indian economy and increase economic growth the central government announced a Rs. 20 lakh crore package. For more than half of the respondents (55%) this package was enough to handle the economic crisis. But, for 33% of them, it wasn’t enough. Many financial experts and groups expressed disappointment over this package. While some of the economists dismissed the government's claim that the measures are equal to 10% of the GDP. According to Moody's Investors Service, the COVID-19 package eased the asset risk but the efforts were not enough to decrease the negative impact of coronavirus lockdown. Overall, on the Economic front, 23% of the people surveyed found the government’s efforts to handle economic distress created by the pandemic to be outstanding. Whereas, 22% of the respondents found the efforts put forward by the government as average.

Indian migrant workers faced a major problem due to COVID-19. As nationwide lockdowns were imposed within the country, millions of migrant workers had to deal with the loss of income, food shortages, and uncertainty about their future. The MOTN survey asked people who they hold responsible for the migrant crisis. The results showed that 43% of the respondents held both the central and the state governments responsible for the migrant crisis. Over 70% of the people surveyed believed that it would have been better if migrant workers got direct benefit transfers (DBTs) from the central government.

India is facing challenges on many fronts. On one hand, our country is fighting with coronavirus pandemic, while on the other, it faces a series of tensions with China at the border. Amid this, the respondents were asked whether India should spend more on healthcare or on defense. The result showed that close to 70% of the respondents said that the government needs to increase spending on both public health as well as defense. However, when the choice was between the two sectors, only 7% of the respondents want the government to pick defense over healthcare.

OPPOSITION

The opposition in India plays an important role in providing practical criticism of the ruling party. In the 17th Lok Sabha, the Congress party is the largest opposition party. So, the MOTN survey tried to find out what people feel about the role played by the opposition party in the current crisis. Member of the opposition party Rahul Gandhi frequently criticized the government over the issues of coronavirus pandemic, the migrant crisis, and economic slowdown. The survey results showed that 38% of the respondents found these criticisms just baseless allegations. While for 25% of the respondents, these criticisms made sense. On the other hand, the majority of the respondents (59%) felt that Rahul Gandhi shouldn’t attack the government on national security issues. Overall, 53% of the respondents feel that the opposition parties have criticized the Centre during the coronavirus pandemic without any constructive approach. While almost one-third of the respondents believe that the criticism was constructive.

CHINA

Tensions between India and China escalated after troops from both sides got into a violent clash in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15, 2020. Twenty Indian Army personnel including a commanding officer (CO) and an unknown number of Chinese troops were killed in the fierce clash. In light of this, the respondents in the MOTN survey were asked about how well the government handled the recent skirmishes with China. A majority of 69% of the respondents felt that India gave a befitting answer to China. And 47% of the respondents believe that the Ladakh standoff was a result of China's external aggression, while 30% of the respondents think it was because of the Indian government's faulty foreign policy. The majority of the people who were surveyed don’t trust China now, and over 90% of them are in favor of the Chinese app ban and believed it was the right approach. Further, the majority of the respondents (72%) have confidence in the Indian military and believe that it would win against China.

BEST PM

The MOTN Survey August Edition (2020), tried to find who has been the best Prime Minister of India so far. The results showed that for 44% of the respondents our current PM Mr. Narendra Modi was voted as the best Prime Minister of India so far. The second position was secured by our former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee with 14% votes, while our former PM Indira Gandhi stood at the third position with 12% votes. Even for the majority of the respondents, PM Narendra Modi is best suited to be the next prime minister of India.

BEST CM

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath managed to secure 24% of the total votes and became the Best Chief Minister of India according to the MOTN survey August edition. This is the 3rd time in a row when the majority of the interviewees have voted for Yogi Adityanath. Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, stood at 2nd position with 15% votes, followed by Jagan Reddy (CM, Andhra Pradesh) with 11% votes. According to the latest MOTN survey, six of the seven top-performing chief ministers are from non-BJP and non-Congress parties.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) which seeks to provide citizenship to migrants belonging to six communities -Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, and Parsi, who entered India illegally from the Muslim-majority countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and have stayed in the country for five years. This act saw a lot of criticisms and nationwide protests. The MOTN survey tried to find out what people thought about this act. The results showed that 50% of the respondents support this act. While 15% of the respondents thought this act to be discriminatory towards the Muslim community. However, the percentage of the respondents, who consider this Act to be discriminatory, has dropped by over 10%, as compared to the last MOTN survey (January 2020).

ENTERTAINMENT

According to the MOTN survey, Akshay Kumar has been chosen as the No.1 Hero by the respondents for the 2nd time in a row. Amitabh Bachchan is close behind with 23% votes, while Shahrukh Khan takes the third position with 11% votes. Deepika Padukone was chosen as Heroine No. 1 by the respondents, followed by Priyanka Chopra who stood at second position with 14% votes. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the theaters were shut down towards the end of March this year. The MOTN survey questioned people whether they would go to theaters if they reopen. The results showed that over 60% of the respondents are either not willing or are unsure to go to the theaters when they reopen. This leaves no space for the entertainment industries other than to adopt new methods like releasing films on OTT platforms.

The MOTN survey provided us insights into the minds of the people. As the results discussed a lot of relevant facets, it is important that we should consider certain limitations to this survey too. This survey provides us with a picture of a subset of people, which is just a part of our diverse population. This survey did point out the popular choices but it is also important that we capture the reasoning behind it too. This survey is a great start towards analyzing the data from the people which can provide us a real look into the minds of people.

Thus, this survey discussed some pivotal points and provided us with the results. We can hope that through these efforts, multiple channels and discussions about such issues enter our general life arena. As such discussions not only pave a way for a better understanding of varied views but open doors for appreciation and constructive criticism. The questions laid down were important in the current times. This survey pointed out that capturing the opinions of people is the foundation of our democracy. And laid down how polls could enhance a learning curve for our government and people in these tough times.

By: - Vanshika Arora