Jobs to be top election issue in 2019: Survey

NEW DELHI:

Jobs

could be the single most important issue in the upcoming

Lok Sabha

polls with the farm crisis and construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya other major issues, a Times Now-VMR opinion poll has found.


The poll also found that Rahul Gandhi has gained significantly in credibility over the last five years and his sister Priyanka Gandhi is seen as having an impact on her party’s prospects. The Modi government’s performance on its promises got a tepid rating with 44.4% saying they were “least fulfilled” and only 26.9% saying most had been fulfilled.

Asked what the defining issue in the polls would be, 38.7% picked employment. A much lower 19.1% thought loan waivers and agriculture would be the big issue and 15.5% said the temple issue would dominate. Only 6.3% thought quotas would be the main issue and other issues including Rafale got an even more lukewarm response.

Interestingly, 38.6% of the respondents thought India was less communally charged now than five years ago and another 23.6% felt it was actually “more liberal and reasoned”. A minority of 37.8% felt the communal situation had worsened.

Another interesting finding was that only 34.4% viewed the mahagathbandhans in various parts of the country as

merely opportunistic. Almost one-fourth said these parties genuinely believe in their ideologies and another 11% felt they are a viable alternative to the two main parties.

Asked who had the best roadmap for India’s future, 44.4% picked Narendra Modi, 29.9% said Rahul had the best vision and about one in seven though regional leaders too could offer a better roadmap.