The most important factor for voters in this assembly election is the chief minister candidate, followed by candidate’s party and the candidate. This was revealed in a survey conducted by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) in the 25 parliamentary constituencies in Rajasthan.
The survey found that the least important factor for the voters was the distribution of cash, liquor or gifts, followed by candidate’s caste or religion, said Maj Gen (retd) Anil Verma, the chief of ADR, at a press conference in Jaipur on Tuesday.
Verma said that the survey on ‘Expectations of the voter from Rajasthan and their perception on the performance of the government’ covered more than 12,500 people in rural and urban areas from all castes between August 2018 and November 2018.
He said the top three important issues in rural areas were better employment opportunities (66%), followed by high price realisation/price for farm products (54%) and better health care and better law and order (41%). Other issues included better board, drinking water and empowerment of women and security and better garbage clearance.
In urban areas, the three major issues were better employment opportunities (69%), better transport facility (50%) and better hospitals/primary healthcare centres (47%). Other issues included better roads, facility for cyclists and pedestrians on roads and water and air pollution.
In regard to the government’s performance, rural population responded that the state government was best on agricultural loan availability and agricultural subsidy for seeds/fertilisers with average score of 4.3 each of them out of 1-5. In urban areas, people gave score of 4.52 for better hospitals and primary healthcare centres.
As many as 94% of the respondents think that people should not vote for candidates with criminals record, while 97% think that someone with a criminal case should not be in parliament or state assembly.