BENGALURU, 17 APRIL

With only 10 days remaining for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, State's voter preference seems to lean towards Congress, according to a pre-poll survey conducted by eedina.com.

Congress is likely to get 13-18 seats of the total of 28 seats while BJP-JD(S) alliance is anticipated to secure 10 to 13 seats, as per the survey, facilitated by Kannada news portal eedina.com.

During the survey, eedina.com invited citizens to volunteer and provided them with training to ask the right questions. Rather than relying on phone calls, volunteers engaged with voters directly in their homes to analyse the voters’ opinions.

The survey revealed that around 51.41 per cent of respondents are aware of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, indicating a potential increase in Congress vote share, especially with the declaration of ‘Nyaya Patra’ of Rs 1 lakh for the guarantees. 48.59 per cent of the respondents were unaware of the Mahalakshmi scheme, a poll promise by Congress. 52.28 per cent of the respondents are inclined to vote for Congress due to their guarantee schemes, the survey said.

Around 41.87 per cent of respondents were dissatisfied with the Central government's treatment of Karnataka in terms of funds allocation.

When questioned about the major challenges faced in the past decade: 85.30 per cent of respondents expressed discontent over the rising prices; 37 per cent felt that employment opportunities diminished due to BJP, while 19 per cent attributed it to the Congress and 36 per cent of respondents believed that corruption increased in the last decade, primarily due to BJP.

Regarding Prime Minister Modi's performance, 47 per cent of respondents felt that India's global standing has improved. Around 33% rated Modi's work as "excellent," and 35.8 per cent considered it "satisfactory". 45 per cent of respondents believe Modi should be given a third term as Prime Minister. In contrast, a majority of respondents, 56 per cent, expressed their inclination towards voting in favour of the Congress' guarantee schemes. This sentiment is even stronger among women, with 59 per cent indicating support for the Congress' guarantees.

Furthermore, 39.6 per cent of respondents believed that State government guarantees are more beneficial, compared to 20 per cent who favour Union government schemes. Around 26 per cent felt that both State and Union government schemes are helpful. —Salar News