Employment top priority in Bihar, MP, Telangana, Chhattisgarh: ADR survey
In a worrying sign for the BJP, despite its thrust on making nationalism as its main poll plank, unemployment has emerged as the key issue for voters in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh.
A survey conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows that more than half of the respondents list employment as their top priority and they ranked the NDA Government’s performance in this area at an abysmal 2.15 on a scale of 5.
The ADR survey shows 58.84 per cent voters pitching for jobs/employment for youth in Chhattisgarh; 50 per cent voters wanting jobs in Bihar; 70 per cent in Telangana and 61.91 per cent in Madhya Pradesh. For them, employment is the major issue and they expect political parties to do something concrete.
As per reports, the Modi Government has failed to deliver on the employment front. In January, the Modi Government had withheld the release of the National Sample Survey Office Periodic Labour Force Survey that pegged joblessness at a 45-year high of 6.1 per cent during 2017-2018.
In March, it was reported that a survey by the Labour Bureau on the number of jobs created under the Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency (MUDRA) would not be made public for another two months, until after the elections. The Modi Government had earlier also withheld the 6th annual employment-unemployment survey by the Labour Bureau, which showed India’s unemployment rate in 2016-17 was the highest in four years at 3.9 per cent.
The Chhattisgarh Survey Report stated that voters’ priorities were neglected by the Government. According to the report, employment, public transport and better roads were top priorities for voters and the Government performed “below average” on all three. The survey shows better job opportunities (58.84 per cent), better public transport (38.41 per cent) and better roads (37.78 per cent) are the top three voters’ priorities in the State.
The survey shows that the Government performance on these three voters’ priorities was below average. In rural areas, the concerns were employment, availability of water and electricity for agriculture and the Government performed below average.
According to the survey, employment, better law and order, and better roads are major concerns of urban voters. “The Government’s performance on urban voter priorities of better employment opportunities (2.22), better law and order/policing (2.20) and better roads (2.12) was rated below average. In addition, the Government has performed poorly in providing public transport (2.18) and drinking water (2.52),” the report said.
The survey report stated that the previous BJP Government in Chhattisgarh, led by Raman Singh, performed “poorly and underwhelmingly” on almost all Governance parameters, including employment, public transport, agricultural infrastructure and law and order.
The survey, conducted between October and December 2018 in the State then ruled by the BJP, was released on Monday. The Raman Singh Government was in power in the State for 15 years, before it was replaced by the Congress in December 2018.
According to Bihar survey report, the performance of the Nitish Kumar Government in Bihar was below average on the most important concerns of voters, including employment opportunities, availability of water for agriculture and better healthcare facilities. Across the State, major concerns of voters were employment (49.95 per cent), availability of water for farms (41.43 per cent) and better hospital/primary healthcare centres (39.09 per cent). Employment (47 per cent) continues to be a huge concern for the urban voters other than drinking water (46 per cent) and better hospitals/primary healthcare centres (43 per cent).
In rural Bihar, the top voter concerns were employment (50 per cent), availability of water for agriculture (48 per cent) and farm loans (42 per cent) and the Government performed below average on all three areas. The election watchdog’s ‘Bihar Survey 2018’, says the Government performed “poorly” on traffic congestion, electricity for domestic and farm use as well as in providing high realisation of agricultural products.
The survey report on Madhya Pradesh shows that for 61.91 per cent voters in Madhya Pradesh, including rural areas, better employment opportunities matter more than issues related to agriculture, corruption or terrorism. “A total of 61.91 per cent voters in rural and urban MP consider better employment opportunities as the biggest election issue,” the report said. As per report, better employment avenues was the primary concern for 70 per cent of Madhya Pradesh’s urban population and 59 per cent of rural voters. The second priority for 39.19 per cent Madhya Pradesh voters was remunerative prices for farm produce, while the third concern for 32.69 per cent electors was better health care by way of more hospitals and primary health centres, the report said.
In rural areas, 56 per cent voters wanted higher prices for farm produce while 40 per cent spoke of the need for electricity for agricultural purposes, the survey showed.
The ADR report on Telangana said voters in both rural and urban areas gave big thumbs up to jobs for youth with 63 per cent of voters in the rural hinterland wanting jobs and 71 per cent in urban areas pitching for better employment opportunities.
The other issue which got voter preference was noise pollution with 50 per cent in urban areas believing it to be an important issue which needs to be addressed. In rural areas, 45 per cent voters gave priority for better price realisation of farm produce, another 45 per cent think subsidy for seeds and fertilizers must continue.