As 900 million Indians gear up to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, the biggest issue for them remains severe unemployment and underemployment across the country.

“Across all divides—gender, age, social categories, rural and urban, and wealth groups—Indian voters have rated better employment opportunities as their highest priority,” according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms that surveyed more than 2.73 lakh people across 534 Lok Sabha constituencies in 2018. 

India’s two largest political parties - Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – have proposed income support schemes to woo voters in the upcoming general elections. The ADR survey suggests that most voters only expect one thing from the government: better jobs.

Need for better jobs is a top priority this election. There are other issues too that voters expect the government to address such as healthcare, drinking water and roads.

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In 2018, priority to jobs gained 57 per cent more importance compared to the previous years’ survey result by ADR.

Of India’s eight most socio-economically backward states, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh prioritised employment opportunities over other concerns.

The individuals bearing the highest brunt of joblessness in the country belong to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.

The ADR survey covered 534 Lok Sabha constituencies and 2,73,487 voters spread among various demographics. It was conducted between October 2018 and December 2018.

Nearly half of the surveyed voters — 46.80 per cent — rated ‘Better Employment Opportunities’ as their top concern.

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The survey report comes after Modi government had withheld the release of the National Sample Survey Office Periodic Labour Force Survey that pegged unemployment at a 45-year high of 6.1 per cent during 2017-2018.

For 34.60 per cent of the surveyed voters, the next biggest concern was better hospitals and better healthcare. Drinking water has been flagged after that with 30.50 per cent — more than a third of the total surveyed voters.

These issues were followed by better roads (28.34 per cent) and better public transport (27.35 per cent).