Government performed poorly on voters’ top priorities: Survey

Mumbai: A survey carried out by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) in Maharashtra has revealed that better employment opportunities (42.10 per cent), drinking water (37.53 per cent)  and availability of crop loans (29 per cent) were the top three priorities for voters all over Maharashtra.

According to survey results, the government’s performance was below average on all three parameters and was rated as 2.48, 2.52 and 2.35, respectively, on a scale of 5.

According to ADR  officials, in Maharashtra, the survey covered approximately 24,000 respondents across all 48 parliamentary constituencies of the state. The survey was conducted between October and December 2018.

In rural Maharashtra, the topmost voters’ priorities were agriculture loan availability (51 per cent), availability of water for agriculture (49 per cent), and higher price realisation for farm products (46 per cent), whereas the performance of the government on these issues was rated as 2.35, 2.29 and 2.17, respectively.

In addition, the government had performed poorly in providing agriculture subsidy for seeds/fertilisers (2.24) and electricity for agriculture (2.27), said the report.

For urban voters in Maharashtra, the topmost priorities were better employment opportunities (48 per cent), drinking water (43 per cent), and easing traffic congestion (35 per cent).

The performance of the government on these priorities was rated as 2.27, 2.32 and 2.10, respectively. In addition, the government had performed poorly on noise pollution (2.17) and better roads.

“The survey pointed to the fact that voters’ priorities had been neglected by the government. This was quite clear from the fact that the government had performed poorly and underwhelmingly on almost all top governance issues as rated by the voters,” said the report.