Gujarat Election: People Prefer to Vote for Criminal Candidates
The survey observed that over 70 per cent people in Gujarat are ready to ignore the criminal record of their candidates because they feel such candidates have done “good work.”
In Gujarat, better employment opportunities, better public transport, and empowerment of women are the top 3 issues about which people are most concerned.
This is revealed in the “2017 ADR Midterm Survey Report for Gujarat” which has been released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The Gujarat Legislative Assembly election, 2017 is scheduled to be held on December 9 and December 14 for all the 182 members of the Assembly and the results will be declared on December 18.
The ADR survey has studied the voting behavior of the people in Gujarat. The survey tried to identify the important factors that people take into account before voting for a particular candidate.
Overall, Top 10 Issues for Gujarat:
According to the survey, people in Gujarat gave most importance to the Caste / Religion of the candidate, followed by the PM / CM candidate from the party and then the party of the candidate. The candidate was given the least importance before voting.
The survey also tried to identify if voters are aware of the use of money and muscle power in elections. Specifically, whether they are aware of distribution of gifts and money by candidates before polls or they have the knowledge about the criminal record of their candidates.
It was observed that nearly 61 per cent of people in Gujarat are well aware that candidates distribute gifts and money ahead of elections. However, only 29 per cent people knew such distribution is illegal. 56 per cent people also knew that they could get an information about the criminal records of their candidates easily.
The survey also observed that over 70 per cent people in Gujarat are ready to ignore the criminal record of their candidates because they feel such candidates have done “good work.”
Moreover, around 73 per cent people vote for candidates facing criminal charges because they were of their own Caste / Religion, the survey revealed.
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) was established in 1999 by a group of professors from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad.
