The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) commissioned perhaps the largest ever Voter Survey in any country. The survey was conducted between October 2018 and December 2018, prior to the General Elections to the Lok Sabha 2019. It covered 534 Lok Sabha constituencies with 2,73,487 voters participating in this exercise spread among various demographics. The three main objectives of this survey were to identify the following: (i) voters’ priorities on specific governance issues, (ii) voters’ ratings of the government’s performance on those issues, and (iii) factors affecting voting behaviour.
Focusing on Manipur, this report provides an analysis of 10 most important governance issues as rated by the voters of Manipur (out of the 31 listed in the questionnaire). These voters’ priorities are further examined in relation to the performance of the Government on those issues as perceived by the respondents. A three-level scale of GOOD, AVERAGE and BAD was used, where GOOD was given weightage equal to 5, Average was weighted 3 and BAD was weighted as 1. The survey covered 1000 respondents across two parliamentary constituencies of Manipur.
KEY FINDINGS
- The Manipur Survey 2018 shows that Better Employment Opportunities (42.94%), Agricultural Loan Availability (36.25%), and Electricity for Agriculture (35.46%) are the top three voters’ priorities in overall Manipur.
- The performance of the government on all top three voters’ priorities of Better Employment Opportunities (2.16 on a scale of 5), Agricultural Loan Availability (1.62), and Electricity for Agriculture (1.29) was rated as Below Average.
- In rural Manipur, top most voters’ priorities were Agriculture Loan Availability (46%), Electricity for Agriculture (45%), and Higher Price Realization for Farm Products (45%).
- The performance of the government on rural voters’ priorities of Agriculture Loan Availability (1.62 on a scale of 5), Electricity for Agriculture (1.29), and Higher Price Realization for Farm Products (1.86) was rated as Below Average.
- In addition, the government has performed poorly in providing Agriculture Subsidy for Seeds/Fertilisers (1.29) and Availability of Water for Agriculture (1.31) in rural Manipur.
- For the urban voters in Manipur, the top most priorities were Drinking Water (46%), Better Public Transport (44%), and Better Hospitals/ Primary Healthcare Centres (40%).
- The performance of the government on urban voters’ priorities of Drinking Water (1.75 on a scale of 5), Better Public Transport (1.43), and Better Hospitals/ Primary Healthcare Centres (1.33) was rated as Below Average.
- In addition, the government has performed poorly in providing Better Law and Order/Policing (1.62) and Electricity for Domestic Use (1.71) in urban Manipur.