An exclusive survey-cum-opinion poll conducted by CVoter in Karnataka ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections reveals that as many as 57 per cent of the respondents are angry with the state government and want to change it.
As per the survey, just about 17 per cent of the potential voters say that they are not angry with the government and do not want to change it. There are other ominous signals for the BJP government led by Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai. Almost 47 per cent of the respondents rate the performance of the Chief Minister as 'poor'.
In addition, corruption has emerged as a major issue among the voters in the state after unemployment and infrastructure. In Assembly elections in states ruled by the BJP, the last time corruption had become a major issue was in Jharkhand in 2019, where the BJP had lost. Barring that, incumbent BJP governments in states have not faced such levels of anger among a majority of the voters who want to change the government.
CVoter surveys and polls in the recent past have shown that anger against the state government and a stated desire to change it doesn't necessarily mean the incumbent loses the elections. Another factor is perceptions about who is seen to be winning the elections irrespective of anger levels against the government.
The alarm bells for the BJP are loud even here as 39 per cent of the respondents in the CVoter poll say they think the Congress is winning Karnataka while 34 per cent feel that the BJP is retaining power in the state.
It is rare for a party to go on and win Assembly elections when more voters feel that the rival in winning. To put things in perspective, CVoter had conducted a similar poll in Himachal Pradesh before the elections in late 2022. In that poll, 46.6 per cent of the voters felt the BJP will win, while 43.2 per cent felt the Congress will win. Yet, the BJP lost power to the Congress, albeit by a narrow margin.
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--IANS
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