According to a pre-poll study conducted by CSDS-Lokniti three weeks prior to the 2024 general election, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) held a comfortable 12-point advantage over the opposition alliance, INDIA. The advantage the NDA has is still largely due to the Narendra Modi factor. However, concerns about one’s means of subsistence are becoming more pressing in this election. Parts of society’s discontent with inflation and unemployment suggest that a hard battle is imminent.
Although a sizable portion of the populace is content with the NDA administration, the percentage has decreased from the 2019 pre-election survey. In the polls conducted prior to 2019, sixty-five percent stated they were “somewhat” or “fully” satisfied with the government. By 2024, only 57% of respondents still fit this description. From 30% to 39%, the proportion of people who are “somewhat” or “fully” dissatisfied has increased. Notably, compared to the north and west, the level of satisfaction was noticeably lower in the southern regions.
The top three “least popular initiatives” of the Modi government, according to the survey, are poverty, rising unemployment, and inflation, which are the reasons for the decline in satisfaction. More over half of voters who supported the opposition, in particular, named these three things as their “least liked work of Modi.” Many people nominated “Ayodhya Ram Mandir” as the “most admired work” of this regime. One in three voters, particularly those from the NDA, cited the temple’s building as their “most admired work of Modi.”
Close to 56% of respondents trust “a lot” or “somewhat” Mr. Modi’s guarantees, with 49% saying the same about Mr. Gandhi’s guarantees. Notably, while Mr. Modi’s guarantees were trusted more by the richer households, the middle-class placed similar trust in both.
