The Lokniti-CSDS post-poll survey data show that the general/upper caste Brahmin, Rajput, and Vaishya voters in Uttar Pradesh largely favoured the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Muslim voters in India’s most populated state preferred the INDIA alliance.
The INDIA alliance won 43 seats while the Hindutva party could win only 33 of the 75 seats it contested, and its allies won only one. The Congress bagged six seats out of the 17 it contested, reported Maktoob Media.
Close to nine of every 10 (89%) Rajput voters favoured the BJP, showed Lokniti-CSDS post-poll survey data.
Yadav and Muslim voters consolidated in favour of the INDIA coalition along with a sizeable share of non-Jatav Dalit voters.
The survey results showed that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) lost support among all the social denominations including Jatavs, its main support category.
The most important factor which were responsible for the poor performance of the BJP and the spectacular performance of the Samajwadi Party was that the “Modi magic” appeared to have waned significantly in Uttar Pradesh, the post-poll survey results showed.
In the survey, when respondents were asked who they want as the Prime Minister after this Lok Sabha election, 36% said they wanted Rahul Gandhi and only 32% said that they would prefer Narendra Modi.
According to the survey results, the saffron party, known for its social engineering, was overpowered by Akhilesh Yadav’s alternative social engineering formula of ‘PDA’ under which he distributed tickets mostly to Pichhadas (backward communities) and Dalits and a few to Yadavs and Muslims in order to counter the allegation of being a Muslim-Yadav party.
This was one of the factors which were responsible for the poor performance of the Hindu nationalist party and the massive win of the INDIA alliance.
It also noted that several BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh acknowledged that many sitting MPs of the Hindu nationalist party had not kept in touch with the electorate in their respective constituencies.
The Lokniti-CSDS post-poll survey data showed that the OBCs and Dalits feared that the BJP would change the Constitution after many of its leaders made statements to this effect. The saffron party could not counter the Opposition’s narrative that it wanted to change the Constitution and do away with reservation for OBCs and SC/STs.
Unemployment was a major concern for the voters in the state, it showed.
The frequent leaks of examination papers for government jobs further eroded public trust and led to frustration among the youth and their families, according to the post-poll survey.
