Press Release

06th April 2019

Dear Friends,  

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) commissioned perhaps the largest ever Voter Survey in any country. The survey was conducted between October 2018 and December 2018, prior to the General Elections to the Lok Sabha 2019. It covered 534 Lok Sabha constituencies with 2,73,487 voters participating in this exercise spread among various demographics. The three main objectives of this survey were to identify the following: (i) voters’ priorities on specific governance issues, (ii) voters’ ratings of the government's performance on those issues, and (iii) factors affecting voting behaviour.

Focusing on Assam, this report provides an analysis of 10 most important governance issues as rated by the voters of Assam (out of the 31 listed in the questionnaire). These voters’ priorities are further examined in relation to the performance of the Government on those issues as perceived by the respondents. A three-level scale of GOOD, AVERAGE and BAD was used, where GOOD was given weightage equal to 5, Average was weighted 3 and BAD was weighted as 1.The survey covered approximately 7,000 respondents across all 14 constituencies in Assam. 

KEY FINDINGS

§   The Assam Survey 2018 shows that Better Employment Opportunities (47.99%), Better Hospitals/Primary Healthcare Centres (45.78%), and Better Roads (34.56%) arethe top three voters’ priorities in overall Assam.

§   The performance of the government on all top three voters’ priorities of Better Employment Opportunities (2.04 on a scale of 5), Better Hospitals/Primary Healthcare Centres (2.08), and Better Roads (2.30) was rated as Below Average. 

§   In rural Assam, top most voters’ priorities were Better Hospitals/Primary Healthcare Centres (51%), Better Employment Opportunities (45%), and Agriculture Loan Availability (44%).

§   The performance of the government on rural voters’ priorities of Better Hospitals/Primary Healthcare Centres (2.12 on a scale of 5), Better Employment Opportunities (2.08), and Agriculture Loan Availability (2.08)  was rated as Below Average. 

§   In addition, the government has performed poorly in providing Agriculture Subsidy for Seeds/Fertilisers (1.97) and Availability of Water for Agriculture (2.05) in rural Assam.

§   For the urban voters in Assam, the top most priorities were Better Employment Opportunities (55%), Better Roads (50%), and Lower Food Prices for Consumers (39%).

§   The performance of the government on urban voters’ priorities of Better Employment Opportunities (1.93 on a scale of 5), Better Roads (2.15), and Lower Food Prices for Consumers (1.97) was rated as Below Average.

§   In addition, the government has performed poorly in providing Electricity for Domestic Use (1.94) and Better Hospitals/ Primary Healthcare Centres (1.99) in urban Assam.

Top 3 Voters’ Priorities and the Performance of Government in Assam – Overall and Rural & Urban

Graph 1: Assam - Top 3 overall Voters’ Priorities and Government’s Performance Ranking

Graph 2: Assam - Rural & Urban Breakup of Voters' Priorities and Government's Performance

Attachment: Attached is the detailed Assam Survey Report 2018. We believe that the assessment report can be an important tool in engendering improvements within all institutions in refining their own institutional practices and developing better oversight of other bodies. We hope the report will be instrumental in starting a coordinated effort to work together to ensure the most efficient use of resources to serve the nation as a whole. Please find a link to the report on our website.