Jobs, healthcare, drinking water top priorities for voters: Survey
New Delhi, Mar 26: Better employment opportunities, better healthcare and drinking water are the top priorities for the voters at the all-India level, as per a survey by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
According to the All India Survey 2018, in all the 10 areas that were the priority for the voters, the government's rating was "below average".
"The significance of better employment opportunities as voters' highest priority has increased by 56.67 per cent from 30 per cent in 2017 to 47 per cent in 2018. At the same time, the performance of the government on this issue declined from 3.17 to 2.15 on a scale of five," the ADR survey noted.
The three main objectives of the ADR survey were to identify voters' priorities on specific governance issues, voters ratings of the government's performance on those issues, and factors affecting the voting behaviour.
According to the survey, better employment opportunities (46.80 per cent), better healthcare (34.60 per cent) and drinking water (30.50 per cent) were the top three priorities of the voters at the all-India level,
It is followed by better roads (28.34 per cent) and better public transport (27.35 per cent) at the fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Agriculture-related governance issues also featured predominantly in the top 10 voters' priorities at a time several parts of the country have been witnessing farm distress.
For instance, the availability of water for agriculture (26.40 per cent) was ranked sixth, agriculture loan availability (25.62 per cent) ranked seventh, higher price realisation for farm products (25.41 per cent) ranked eighth, and agriculture subsidy for seeds/fertilisers (25.06 per cent) ranked ninth.
Better law-and-order situation was the 10th governance-related issues in the survey.
The survey was conducted between October -December last year, covering 534 Lok Sabha constituencies with 2,73,487 voters, spread among various demographics, participating in the exercise.
"Amongst the 32 states and UTs (Union Territories) that were surveyed, in 29 of them, voters have given below average ratings to the government for its performance on all top 3 voters' priorities at the state level. This is with the exception of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Puducherry," the findings of the survey noted.
As per All India Survey 2018, 75.11 per cent voters disclosed that the chief ministerial candidate was the most important reason behind voting for a particular candidate, followed by candidate's party (71.32 per cent) and the candidate (68.03 per cent) himself/herself.
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Bantwal: Ex-soldier dies after casting vote at home
Bantwal, Apr 24: Madhava Prabhu, an 85-year-old resident of Wagga in Bantwal, exemplified unwavering commitment to his civic duty even in the face of illness.
Admitted to a private hospital here owing to his ailment, Prabhu, a former army officer and inspector of Malaria Eradication department, died without responding to treatment on Wednesday.
Amidst his illness, Prabhu was determined to exercise his right to vote, especially with the provision for home voting for those aged 85 and above.
With the doctor's permission, he left the hospital briefly to fulfil his sacred duty on Tuesday. However, fate had a cruel twist in store as Prabhu's condition worsened upon his return to the hospital.
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Tragically, he passed away today, leaving behind his wife, two daughters, and sons.
Prabhu's life epitomizes dedication and service, from his tenure in the army to his role in the Malaria Eradication Department and his involvement in community affairs as vice president of the Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society.
His commitment to duty and his final act of voting serve as a poignant reminder of the importance of civic engagement, even in the most challenging circumstances.
