Employment opportunities top list of voters' priorities; govt. performance 'below avg': ADR survey
New Delhi, May 13: Better employment opportunities, healthcare and drinking water were the top three issues on which voters want the government of the day to work on, a national survey conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has claimed.
As per the survey, conducted between October and December in 2018, the performance of the government has been rated "below-average", Jagdeep Chhokar, founder member, National Election Watch, ADR, told reporters here on Monday.
The survey covered 534 Lok Sabha constituencies with 2,73,487 voters participating in the exercise.
It was spread across various demographics such as voters' priorities on specific governance issues; voters' ratings of the government's performance on those issues, and factors affecting voting behaviour.
When asked if national security was one of the issues listed in the survey, Chhokar said, "terrorism was one of the 31 listed issues, and it figured on the 30th position in the survey".
Better employment opportunities figured as the highest priority among voters (46.80 per cent), followed by better healthcare (34.60 per cent) and drinking water (30.50 per cent), better roads (28.34 per cent) and better public transport (27.35 per cent), as per the national survey.
Chhokar claimed that as per the report, the performance of the government, measured on a scale of 1 to 5, was rated "below average" on top 10 governance issues.
He said as the survey was conducted last year, "Balakot airstrike, national security issue was not included in the list".
"It is important to note that agriculture-related governance issues featured predominantly in the top 10 list of voters' priorities, e.g. availability of water for agriculture (26.40 per cent) that was ranked sixth, agriculture loan availability (25.62 per cent) at seventh, higher price realisation for farm products (25.41 per cent) at eighth, and agriculture subsidy for seeds/fertilizers (25.06 per cent) at ninth," he said.
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Bengal polls: TMC seeks removal of Bhabanipur poll official, alleges proximity with BJP's Suvendu
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Kolkata (PTI): The TMC sought the immediate removal of the returning officer for the Bhabanipur assembly constituency in West Bengal, alleging he has proximity with BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari.
In a representation submitted to Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Friday, the ruling party raised objections to the appointment of RO for the Bhabanipur seat in southern Kolkata.
The party alleged that the returning officer has a “documented and close association” with Adhikari, who is contesting from Bhabanipur against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Adhikari is also in the electoral fray from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district.
According to the complaint, the RO had earlier served as block development officer in Nandigram-II, where his proximity to Adhikari was allegedly visible in public engagements.
The TMC claimed that such an association creates a “reasonable apprehension of bias” and "compromises the neutrality" required for conducting elections.
The party also questioned the RO's current posting as additional director of land records, stating that the position is typically held by more senior officers.
The TMC alleged that his appointment to the role, particularly ahead of elections, raises concerns of “preferential and motivated deployment”.
Emphasising the critical role of a returning officer, the TMC said the official is responsible for key electoral processes, including nomination scrutiny, conduct of polling and declaration of results, and therefore must be “unimpeachably neutral”.
Citing Article 324 of the Constitution and provisions of the Representation of the People Act, the Trinamool Congress argued that the Election Commission is duty-bound to ensure free and fair polls by appointing officers without any perceived bias.
On 24th March, we formally wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner and CEO, West Bengal, flagging serious concerns over the appointment of Surajit Roy as Returning Officer for Bhabanipur.
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 3, 2026
We presented clear evidence of his close ties with Suvendu Adhikari from his days as BDO,… pic.twitter.com/i6Rybh4xDt
The party also referred to the Model Code of Conduct, which mandates administrative neutrality, and alleged that the RO's continuation violates these principles.
The TMC representation noted that the Election Commission had earlier sought a panel of three alternative officers from the state government, following a complaint lodged on March 24.
While the state complied, no decision has yet been taken to replace the RO, the letter, signed by senior TMC leaders Shashi Panja, Aroop Biswas, Baiswanor Chattopadhyay, claimed.
Calling the situation "constitutionally untenable" and "electorally dangerous", the TMC urged the EC to take "immediate, reasoned and transparent action to ensure the integrity of the electoral process".
