UP poll 2017 survey: Mayawati most preferred CM candidate; Varun Gandhi third

New Delhi, May 2: Former chief minister of UP and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati topped the list of the chief ministerial candidates for the northern state which will go to polls early next year, a survey conducted by ASUME Research, an association of social research professionals has said, according to a Mail Today report.

The survey, which was carried out between April 12-25 across UP, included a sample size of 25,000 people.

CM candidates

While 26 per cent picked Mayawati as their favourite, current CM Akhilesh Yadav from the Samajwadi Party (SP) was the second in the list with 22 per cent. BJP general secretary Varun Gandhi is the third with 20 per cent while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, was the fourth with 12 per cent support.

Speaking about chief ministerial candidates in the party, Gandhi, the MP from Sultanpur in UP, topped in the BJP with 45 per cent, followed by Union Home Minister and former UP chief minister Rajnath Singh. HRD Minister Smriti Irani finished with just one per cent. Yogi Adityanath got five per cent while Kalraj Mishra received four per cent votes.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra got the most votes (45 per cent) in the Congress, followed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi (29 per cent). MLA Rita Bahuguna Joshi got eight per cent, former Union minister Salman Khurshid three per cent, UP unit head Nirmal Khatri two per cent and former Union minister RPN Singh one per cent.

When it came to countering Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP's main campaigner for the UP polls, Congress president Sonia Gandhi was picked by 29 per cent as the most effective face of the Congress, said the survey. Priyanka and Rahul came second and third with 24 and 18 per cent votes, respectively.

Main issues

Law and order, high prices of essential food items and widespread unemployment are the issues the voters are concerned about the most ahead of the UP polls, said the survey. While 25 per cent felt law and order as the biggest problem, 24 per cent felt price rise is the issue to look at. Twenty-two per cent people thought unemployment is the most pressing issue. The fourth and the fifth ranks were taken by communalism (13 per cent) and corruption (10 per cent) while development accounted for just six per cent, the survey said.

Party or individual?

While 27 per cent of those surveyed felt their votes will be determined by the party, 22 per cent felt the difference will be made by the candidates. At least 15 per cent said the local issues will be the decisive factor while 12 and eight per cent thought caste and religion, respectively, will play a vital role.

Performance of the SP government & Centre

Forty-two per cent people said the cuerrnt SP govenment's performance was poor while 29 per cent felt it was average. Eighteen per cent said the government of Akhilesh Yadav was just about good while only seven per cent chose to back him completely. Twenty-one percent felt price rise has been the biggest failure of the Centre, followed by communal tension.

Media's role

While 35 per cent felt the media was influencing the votes' decision, 29 pe cent said it was not the case. Twenty-seven per cent was not sure about it.

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